8. THE REPORTED SPEECH

We use the reported speech to say what someone said:

• Direct speech: I like ice cream.
• Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.

Watch the video to see how to change a sentences from direct to reported speech.

REPORTED SPEECH

Tense	Direct Speech	Reported Speech
present simple	I like the ice cream in this shop.	She said (that) she liked the ice cream in that shop.
present continuous	I am living in London now.
past simple	I bought a car here yesterday.
past continuous	I was walking along this street.
present perfect	I haven't seen Julie today.
past perfect*	I had taken English lessons last year.
will	I'll see you next week.
would*	I would help tomorrow, but..”
can	I can speak perfect English.
could*	I could swim when I was four.
should*	I should call my mother
may	I may be late
must	I must study at the weekend

* doesn't change.

Occasionally, we don't need to change the present tense into the past if the information in direct speech is still true (but this is only for things which are general facts, and even then usually we like to change the tense):

• Direct speech: The sky is blue.
• Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.