There is no change in verb tenses in Reported speech when:
1. the sentence expresses a
general truth or permanent
states and conditions
2. the introductory verb is in
the Present, future, or Present
Perfect tense
3. the verb of the sentence is
in the Unreal past (eg. 2nd or
3rd type conditionals)
4. the following verbs are
used: had beter, could,
would, used to,should, might
and ought to, mustn’t
5. Past Simple changes to
Past Perfect or or remains the
same. When the reported
sentence contains a time
clause, the tenses of the time
clause remain unchanged.
The sentence expresses
something which is believed
to be true. In this case the
verb tense can either change
or remain unchanged.
However, if the sentence
expresses sth which is not
true, then the verb changes.
Direct speech
My mother said, ‘It gets dark
earlier in the winter’
Reported speech
My mother said that it gets
dark earlier in the winter
She says/ will say/ has said,
‘I can cook well’
She says/ will say/ has said
that she can cook well.
He said, ‘If I had time, I
would help you’
He said that he would help
me if he had time.
He said, ‘They should try a
little harder.’
He said that they should try
a little harder.
He said, ‘She came round to
my house while I was doing
my shopping.’
He said that she had come/
came round to his house
while he was doing his
shopping.
He said, ‘Ethiopia is a thirdworld country.’ (true)
He said that Ethiopia is/ was
a third-world country
He said, ‘Ethiopia is a highly
developed country’ (false)
He said that Ethiopia was a
highly developed country.
Can - could (present)
- would be able to (future)
Must - had to (obligation)
He said, ‘you must try harder’
He said that I had to try harder
- would have to (future) He said, ‘I must get my hair cut’
He said that he would have to get his hair cut.
- must (possibility)
Will/ shall – would
May – might, could
Shall - should(asking for advice)
Would (asking for information)
Turn the following into reported speech
1. ‘When I first came here, I had a hard time with the language,’ Susan said.
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2. ‘I couldn’ believe my ears when I heard they’ split up,’ she said to him.
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3. ‘Although I ‘m afraid I must reject your offer,’ Paul said to Philip
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4. ‘You mustn’t ask such silly questions or you will find yourself in serious difficulties
one day,’ she said to me.
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5. Although I won’t be able to let you know until tomorrow, I might be able to come,’ he
said to Sarah
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6. The assistant said, ‘Shall I wrap this for you?’
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7. ‘Is he going to accept thejob offer?’she asked
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8. She said, ‘Be very careful with that knife. It’s very sharp.’
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9. ‘We know you were involved in the robbery,’the police said
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10. The teacher said, ‘You mustn’t make that mistake again.’
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11. Sandra said, ‘When shall I see him again?’
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12. ‘I’ve heard her claim that she may give up her job and open a restaurant,’she said
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13. ‘I really must get going,’ Jane said to the family, ‘or I might miss the train.’
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14. ‘I’m the one who broke the window,’ she said.
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15. ‘I’m sorry that I didn’t phone you yesterday,’ said Jane, ‘but you see I had to take my
dog to the vet’s.’
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