Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is used to communicate what someone else said without using their exact words. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications. This is vital for narration, storytelling, and reporting facts. Mastering the conversion from direct to indirect speech requires understanding pronoun changes, tense backshifting, and time/place word modifications.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | Simple Past | 'I live here', he said. → He said that he lived there. |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous | 'I am going', she said. → She said she was going. |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect | 'I have eaten', he said. → He said he had eaten. |
| Simple Past | Past Perfect | 'I arrived', she said. → She said she had arrived. |
| Direct Word | Indirect Word |
|---|---|
| This | That |
| These | Those |
| Here | There |
| Now | Then |
| Today | That day |
| Tomorrow | The next day |
| Yesterday | The previous day |
When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.' When dealing with universal truths, the tense does not change. For example, 'The teacher said, The earth revolves around the sun' becomes 'The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.'
If the reporting verb is in the present or future tense (e.g., says, will say), the tense of the reported speech does not change. For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.' For instance, 'He says, I am ready' remains 'He says that he is ready.'