Direct and indirect speech with Golden rules

Reported Speech: Detailed Step-by-Step Rules

1. What is Reported Speech?

It is telling someone else what another person said. We remove "quotation marks" and usually use the word 'that' to join the sentences.

2. Reporting Verb (The First Change)

• Said to becomes Told (in plain sentences).
• Said to becomes Asked (in questions).
• Said to becomes Requested (if they say 'Please').
• Said to becomes Ordered (if it is a command).

3. Tense Backshift (The Time Machine Rule)

Because the person spoke in the past, we move the verbs one step back in time:
• is / am / are → was / were
• have / has → had
• write / writes → wrote
• will → would | can → could

4. Pronoun Change (The Identity Rule)

Imagine you are the messenger. You can't say "I" because you are not the original speaker.
• I becomes He / She
• My becomes His / Her
• We becomes They | Our becomes Their

5. Time & Place (The Location Rule)

Since the event happened elsewhere and earlier:
• Here → There
• Now → Then
• Tomorrow → The next day
• Yesterday → The day before

⚠️ THE BIG EXCEPTION (Universal Truth)

If the sentence is a scientific fact (e.g., "The Earth is round"), DO NOT change the tense. Facts are true forever!

REPORTED SPEECH PRACTICE QUIZ

T.S. RAMACHANDRAN, ELT | GHSS ERASAKKANAYAKANUR