Reported speech
The short answer
When the reporting verb is in the past, the reported tense moves one step back: present becomes past, past becomes past perfect, will becomes would. Pronouns and time words shift with it: tomorrow becomes the next day. If what was said is still true, backshift is optional.
Or skip ahead and practise it now: reported speech, free, no signup.
The rule
Reported speech restates what someone said without quoting it. When the reporting verb is in the past, the verb inside the reported clause normally moves one tense back, a change called backshift. Pronouns adjust to the new speaker and time and place words adjust to the new moment. Reported questions lose their inversion and take statement word order, with if or whether for yes-no questions. Backshift is not obligatory when the reported statement remains true at the time of reporting.
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present → past | “I’m tired” → he said he was tired | am → was, works → worked |
| Past → past perfect | “I saw it” → she said she had seen it | saw → had seen |
| will → would | “I’ll call” → he said he would call | will → would, can → could |
| Pronouns | shift to the reporter's viewpoint | I → he, my → his |
| Time and place | shift to the new moment | tomorrow → the next day, here → there |
| Questions | statement orderno inversion | “Where is it?” → he asked where it was |
Part 1 of 3
Backshift
With a past reporting verb, each tense moves one step back: present simple to past simple, present continuous to past continuous, present perfect and past simple both to past perfect, will to would, can to could, may to might.
Two tenses cannot move further back and so stay put: the past perfect, and would, could, should and might, which are already backshifted forms. Must usually becomes had to.
“I’m waiting outside.” → She said she was waiting outside.
Present continuous back one step.
“We’ve finished.” → They said they had finished.
Present perfect to past perfect.
“I’d already left.” → He said he had already left.
Past perfect stays as it is.
Part 2 of 3
Pronouns, time and place
Pronouns shift to the reporter’s point of view: “I’ll help you” said by Ana to me becomes she said she would help me. Getting the tense right and the pronouns wrong is a common half-correction.
Time and place words move too, when the reporting happens later or elsewhere: today becomes that day, tomorrow the next day, yesterday the day before, now then, here there, this that.
“I saw her yesterday.” → He said he had seen her the day before.
Tense, pronoun and time all shift.
“Meet me here at six.” → She told me to meet her there at six.
An instruction, with an infinitive.
“I’ll do it tomorrow.” → He said he would do it the next day.
Will → would, tomorrow → the next day.
Part 3 of 3
Questions, and when not to backshift
Reported questions lose their inversion and the auxiliary do: “Where does she live?” becomes he asked where she lived, not where did she live. Yes-no questions take if or whether: she asked if I was ready.
Backshift is optional when the statement is still true: she said the office opens at nine is fine if it still does. It is also skipped for permanent facts and often in news reporting, where the present keeps the statement current.
“Are you coming?” → She asked whether I was coming.
Whether, and statement word order.
“Water boils at 100°C.” → He said water boils at 100°C.
Still true, so no backshift.
“The train leaves at six.” → She said the train leaves at six.
Optional, if it still does.
Mistakes to avoid
What learners actually get wrong
He asked me where did I live.
He asked me where I lived.
Reported questions take statement word order and drop the auxiliary do. Keeping the question inversion is the single most common error in the topic, because the sentence still feels like a question.
She said me she was busy.
She told me she was busy. / She said she was busy.
Say cannot take a person directly; tell requires one. Reported speech is where this pair causes the most trouble, because both verbs appear constantly.
He said he will call me.
He said he would call me.
Will backshifts to would after a past reporting verb. Leaving it unshifted is understandable in speech and is marked wrong in writing and exams.
She asked if was I ready.
She asked if I was ready.
If and whether introduce the clause, and the clause then takes ordinary statement order. Inverting after if combines both patterns and belongs to neither.
Now use it
Reported speech
Backshift the tense, move the pronouns, drop the quotation marks. Reading a rule and being able to apply it are different skills, and only one of them shows up when you speak.
- 20 questions
- Instant feedback
- No ads, no signup
Questions
Asked and answered
- Do I always have to backshift?
- No. If the reported statement is still true, a fact, a timetable, an ongoing situation. You can keep the original tense. Journalism often does this deliberately to keep a quote feeling current. Backshift is obligatory only when the situation has changed or is finished.
- How do I report commands and requests?
- With tell or ask plus an infinitive, not a that-clause: she told me to wait, he asked me to sign it. For a negative, the not goes before the infinitive: she told me not to wait.
- Which reporting verbs are worth knowing besides say and tell?
- Explain, admit, suggest, promise, warn, add and complain all carry information a plain said does not, and several have their own patterns. Suggest takes a gerund or a that-clause but never an object plus infinitive, which is worth checking before using it.