Mastering Reported Speech: Tense, Modals & More
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Reported Speech: Mastering the Rules
Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, involves changes to verb tenses, modal verbs, possessive adjectives, and expressions of time and place. These changes primarily occur in declarative and interrogative sentences (statements and questions).
Tense Changes in Reported Speech
Tense | Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
---|---|---|
Present Simple | John said: “I'm exhausted” | John said that he was exhausted. |
Present Continuous | John said: “I’m working too hard” | John said that he was working too hard. |
Past Simple | John said: “I worked too hard” | John said he had worked too hard. |
Past Continuous | John said: “I was working too hard” | John said he had been working too hard. |
Present Perfect | John said: “I’ve worked too hard” | John |