REPORTED SPEECH

You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen!

HE SAID YOU WERE THE MOST BEAUTIFIL GIRL HE HAD EVER SEEN.

Reported speech is used to express what others have said. It is also useful when you are writing a paper at college level. In this case, it involves paraphrasing and summarizing what different authors have said.

In spoken discourse there are certain rule to follow. First of all, to make sentences in reported speech you need verbs like say or tell.

On the other hand the tense used to express and idea is also an important factor. Take into consideration the following chart:

Direct Speech Reported Speech
  • Present Tense
  • Future with "Going to"
  • Present Perfect
  • Sentences with "Can"
  • Future with "Will"asteis
  • Present Progressive
  • Simple Past Tense
  • Past with "Going to"
  • Past Perfect
  • Sentences with "Could"
  • Sentences with "Would"
  • Past Progressive

Look at the following examples:

Direct Speech Reported Speech
  • Julia:"I live in my own apartment".
  • Nick:"I am going to visit my parents next weekend".
  • Tom:"I have studied Italian for a year".
  • Linda and John: "We can't come to the party next week".
  • Terry: "I'll write as soon as I get there".
  • Andrew:"I'm learning to cook Chinese food".
  • She said that she lived in her own apartment
  • He said he was going to visit his parents next weekend.
  • Tom said he had studied Italina for a year.
  • They said they couldn't come to the party next week.
  • She said that she would write as soon as he got there.
  • He said he was learning to cook Chinese food.

Exercises: Page 1


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