English Grammar: Verb Conjugations and Reported Speech Rules
Irregular Verb Conjugations
Ser/Estar (To Be): be, was/were, been
Llegar a Ser (To Become): become, became, become
Morder (To Bite): bite, bit, bitten
Romper (To Break): break, broke, broken
Construir (To Build): build, built, built
Comprar (To Buy): buy, bought, bought
Poder (To Be Able To): can, could, been able
Elegir (To Choose): choose, chose, chosen
Venir (To Come): come, came, come
Cortar (To Cut): cut, cut, cut
Hacer (To Do): do, did, done
Beber (To Drink): drink, drank, drunk
Conducir (To Drive): drive, drove, driven
Comer (To Eat): eat, ate, eaten
Caer (To Fall): fall, fell, fallen
Sentir (To Feel): feel, felt, felt
Encontrar (To Find): find, found, found
Olvidar (To Forget): forget, forgot, forgotten
Congelar (To Freeze): freeze, froze, frozen
Conseguir/Obtener (To Get): get, got, got/gotten
Dar (To Give): give, gave, given
Ir (To Go): go, went, gone
Colgar (To Hang): hang, hung, hung
Tener (To Have): have, had, had
Oír (To Hear): hear, heard, heard
Golpear (To Hit): hit, hit, hit
Mantener (To Keep): keep, kept, kept
Conocer/Saber (To Know): know, knew, known
Aprender (To Learn): learn, learned/learnt, learned/learnt
Abandonar/Dejar (To Leave): leave, left, left
Prestar (To Lend): lend, lent, lent
Hacer (To Make): make, made, made
Conocer (To Meet): meet, met, met
Poner (To Put): put, put, put
Leer (To Read): read, read, read
Montar (To Ride): ride, rode, ridden
Correr (To Run): run, ran, run
Sacudir/Temblar (To Shake): shake, shook, shaken
Decir (To Say): say, said, said
Ver (To See): see, saw, seen
Mandar/Enviar (To Send): send, sent, sent
Sentarse (To Sit): sit, sat, sat
Dormir (To Sleep): sleep, slept, slept
Hablar (To Speak): speak, spoke, spoken
Gastar (To Spend): spend, spent, spent
Extender (To Spread): spread, spread, spread
Nadar (To Swim): swim, swam, swum
Tomar/Coger (To Take): take, took, taken
Contar/Decir (To Tell): tell, told, told
Pensar (To Think): think, thought, thought
Tirar/Lanzar (To Throw): throw, threw, thrown
Entender/Comprender (To Understand): understand, understood, understood
Ganar (To Win): win, won, won
Escribir (To Write): write, wrote, written
Reported Speech Transformations
| Tense | Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | I like ice cream | She said (that) she liked ice cream. |
| Present Continuous | I am living in London | She said (that) she was living in London. |
| Past Simple | I bought a car | She said (that) she had bought a car OR She said (that) she bought a car. |
| Past Continuous | I was walking along the street | She said (that) she had been walking along the street. |
| Present Perfect | I haven't seen Julie | She said (that) she hadn't seen Julie. |
| Past Perfect* | I had taken English lessons before | She said (that) she had taken English lessons before. |
| Will | I'll see you later | She said (that) she would see me later. |
| Would* | I would help, but… | She said (that) she would help, but… |
| Can | I can speak perfect English | She said (that) she could speak perfect English. |
| Could* | I could swim when I was four | She said (that) she could swim when she was four. |
| Shall | I shall come later | She said (that) she would come later. |
| Should* | I should call my mother | She said (that) she should call her mother. |
| Might* | I might be late | She said (that) she might be late. |
| Must | I must study at the weekend | She said (that) she must study at the weekend OR She said she had to study at the weekend. |
Pronoun and Time Expression Changes in Reported Speech
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| this | that |
| these | those |
| here | there |
| now | then |
| today | that day |
| this week | that week |
| yesterday | the day before/the previous day |
| tomorrow | the next/following day |
| the day before yesterday | two days before/two days earlier |
| the day after tomorrow | in two days time/two days later |
| ago | before |
| next week | the following week/the week after |