Direct - indirect speech exercise 1 Rewrite sentences in the reported speech.
Direct - indirect speech exercise 2 Report a short dialogue in the reported speech.
Direct - indirect speech exercise 3 Find and correct mistakes in the reported speech.
Direct - indirect speech exercise 4 Choose correct answers in a multiple choice test.
Indirect - direct speech exercise 5 Rewrite sentences from the reported speech to direct speech.
Reported questions, commands and requests:
Reported questions exercise 6 Change the reported questions and orders into direct questions and orders.
Reported questions exercise 7 Change direct questions into reported questions.
Reported commands exercise 8 Make reported commands and requests.
Reported speech rules PDF Changes of tenses, pronouns, time and place in reported statements, questions and commands.
English grammar PDF All PDF rules with examples on e-grammar.org.
The direct and indirect speech are used to say what other people said, thought or felt.
"I like it," he said. - He said that he liked it.
"Dan will come," she hoped. - She hoped Dan would come.
The reported (indirect) speech is typically introduced by verbs such as say, tell, admit, complain, explain, remind, reply, think, hope, offer, refuse etc. in the past tense.
He said (that) he didn't want it.
She explained that she had been at the seaside.
If these verbs are in the past tense, we change the following:
a) verb tenses and verb forms
b) pronouns
c) the adverbs of time and place
A) Verb tenses
We change the tenses in the following way:
As you can see, both the past tense and the present perfect change into the past perfect.
Notes
1. I shall, we shall usually become would.
"I shall appreciate it," he said. - He said he would appreciate it.
2. I should, we should usually change into would.
"We should be really glad," she told us. - She told us they would be really glad.
3. May becomes might.
"I may write to him," she promised. - She promised that she might write to him.
The verb forms remain the same in the following cases:
We have to change the pronouns to keep the same meaning of a sentence.
"We are the best students," he said. - He said they were the best students.
"They called us," he said. - He said they had called them.
"I like your jeans," she said. - She said she liked my jeans.
"I can lend you my car," he said. - He said he could lend me his car.
Sometimes we have to use a noun instead of a pronoun, otherwise the new sentence is confusing.
"He killed them," Kevin said. - Kevin said that the man had killed them.
If we only make mechanical changes (Kevin said he had killed them), the new sentence can have a different meaning - Kevin himself killed them.
This and these are usually substituted.
"They will finish it this year," he said. - He said they would finish it that year.
"I brought you this book," she said. - She said she had brought me the book.
"We want these flowers," they said. - They said they wanted the flowers.
C) Time and place
Let's suppose that we talked to our friend Mary on Friday. And she said: "Greg came yesterday." It means that Greg came on Thursday. If we report Mary's sentence on Sunday, we have to do the following:
Mary: "Greg came yesterday." - Mary said that Greg had come the day before.
If we say: Mary said Greg had come yesterday, it is not correct, because it means that he came on Saturday.
The time expressions change as follows.
now - then, today - that day, tomorrow - the next day/the following day, the day after tomorrow - in two days' time, yesterday - the day before, the day before yesterday - two days before, next week/month - the following week/month, last week/month - the previous week/month, a year ago - a year before/the previous year
Bill: "She will leave tomorrow." - Bill said she would leave the next day.
Sam: "She arrived last week." - Sam said she had arrived the previous week.
Julie: "He moved a year ago." - Julie said he had moved a year before.
Note
If something is said and reported at the same time, the time expressions can remain the same.
"I will go on holiday tomorrow," he told me today. - He told me today he would go on holiday tomorrow.
"We painted the hall last weekend," she told me this week. - She told me this week they had painted the hall last weekend.
On the other hand, if something is reported later, the time expressions are different in the indirect speech.
Last week Jim said: "I'm playing next week."
If we say his sentence a week later, we will say:
Jim said he was playing this week.
Here usually becomes there. But sometimes we make different adjustments.
At school: "I'll be here at 10 o'clock," he said. - He said he would be there at 10 o'clock.
In Baker Street: "We'll meet here." - He said they would meet in Baker Street.