Guidelines To Use Reported Speech

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of reporting what someone else said without quoting their exact words. In reported speech, the speaker usually changes the tense, pronouns, and other elements of the original sentence to reflect that it is being reported secondhand.

For example, if someone says, “I am going to the store,” in reported speech, it might be reported as, “He said he was going to the store.”

In this example, the speaker changed the pronoun “I” to “he” and changed the verb “am” to “was” to reflect that the sentence is being reported from someone else’s perspective.

Reported speech is commonly used in news reporting, storytelling, and everyday conversation when we want to share what someone else has said without using their exact words. It is important to use reported speech accurately and appropriately to convey the intended meaning of the original statement.

Here are some guidelines for using reported speech:

• Changes in verbs: When reporting speech, the tense of the verb changes according to the rules of sequence of tenses.
• For example, if the original statement was in the present tense (“I am hungry”), it would change to the past tense in reported speech (“He said he was hungry”). If the original statement was in the past tense (“I went to the store”), it would change to the past perfect tense in reported speech (“He said he had gone to the store”).

• Changes in pronouns: In reported speech, the pronouns may change to reflect the perspective of the speaker. For example, if the original statement was “I am happy”, it would change to “He said he was happy” in reported speech.

• Changes in time and place: The reported speech may include changes in time and place to reflect the context in which it is being reported.
• For example, if the original statement was “I will meet you tomorrow at the park”, it could change to “He said he would meet me the next day at the park”.

• Changes in modal verbs: Modal verbs such as “can”, “should”, and “must” may also change in reported speech.
• For example, if the original statement was “You must come to the party”, it could change to “He said I had to come to the party”.

• Changes in indirect questions: If the original statement was an indirect question, it may be reported as a direct question.
• For example, if the original statement was “He asked if I knew the way to the station”, it could be reported as “He asked, ‘Do you know the way to the station?’”

In general, reported speech is used to convey what someone said in a way that is consistent with the context and the speaker’s intention. By following these guidelines, you can use reported speech effectively in your writing and conversation.