Reported Speech Transformation in English

Tense Changes in Reported Speech

• Present Simple to Past Simple: "I train every day." He said (that) he trained every day.
• Present Continuous to Past Continuous: "I'm having a shower." He said (that) he was having a shower.
• Present Perfect to Past Perfect: "We haven't seen it yet." They said (that) they hadn't seen it yet.
• Past Simple to Past Perfect: "I met her at 3 pm." He said (that) he had met her at 3 pm.
• Imperative to Infinitive: "Be quiet." He told us to be quiet.
• Can to Could: "I can't swim." He said (that) he couldn't swim.
• Will to Would: "I'll send you a postcard." He said (that) he'd send us a postcard.
• Must/Have to to Had to: "You must study harder." He said (that) we had to study harder.
• May to Might: "It may be true." He said (that) it might be true.

Changes in Time and Place Expressions

• This – That
• Here – There
• Today – That day
• Yesterday – The day before / The previous day
• Tomorrow – The next day / The following day
• Yesterday afternoon – The previous afternoon
• Next week/month/year – The following week/month/year
• Last week/month/year – The previous week/month/year
• A week/month/year ago – A week/month/year before
• Now – Then

Reported Questions

• "What is her name?" He asked what her name was.
• "Why are you crying?" He asked why she was crying.
• "Can I use your pen?" He asked me if/whether he could use my pen.
• "Are you English?" He asked me if/whether I was English.

Reported Commands and Requests

• "Sit down." He told her to sit down.
• "Be quiet." He told them to be quiet.
• "Don't speak aloud." He told them not to speak aloud.

Reporting Verbs Followed by 'That' Clause

• Add: She said: "And the telephone bill hasn't been paid." She added that the telephone bill hadn't been paid.
• Argue: The lawyer said: "The incident didn't happen as it has been told." The lawyer argued that the incident hadn't happened as it had been told.
• Complain: The students said: "Oh my God! There are many contents for the exam." The students complained that there were many contents for the exam.
• Explain: The headmaster said; "The High School is being rebuilt." The headmaster explained that the high school was being rebuilt.

Reporting Verbs Followed by Infinitive

• Decide: The policeman said: "It's clear, we'll arrest the suspects." The policeman decided to arrest the suspects.
• Expect: My friends said; "I hope I see John at the party." My friends expected to see John at the party.
• Promise: Her boyfriend said.: "I will take you to the cinema next time." Her boyfriend promised to take her to the cinema next time.
• Offer: She said: "Shall I give you a lift to your house?" She offered to give me a lift to my house.
• Agree: The boss said: "Yes, I will concede you two free days." The boss agreed to concede me two free days.
• Refuse: The boy said: "No, I won't eat the vegetables." The boy refused to eat the vegetables.

Reporting Verbs Followed by -ing Form

• Deny: The man said: "No, I didn't steal the money." The man denied having stolen the money.
• Admit: The student said: "Yes, it's true. I watch too much TV in the afternoon." The student admitted watching too much TV in the afternoon.
• Recommend: The chef said: "In my opinion, you should try the new dish of the day." The chef recommended trying the new dish of the day.
• Suggest: My friend said: "Why don't we go to the theatre this weekend?" My friend suggested going to the theatre that weekend.