Mastering Direct and Reported Speech: Grammar Rules
Direct Speech vs. Reported Speech
When converting from direct to reported speech, certain changes occur. Here’s a breakdown of the transformations:
Pronoun Changes:
- I becomes He or She
- We becomes They
- My becomes His or Her
- Our becomes Their
- This becomes That
- These becomes Those
- Me becomes Him or Her
- Us becomes Them
- Mine becomes His or Hers
- Ours becomes Theirs
- Myself becomes Himself or Herself
- Ourselves becomes Themselves
- You becomes They
- You (object) becomes Them
- Yourself becomes Himself or Herself
- Yourselves becomes Themselves
- You becomes We
- You (object) becomes Us
- Yours (possessive pronoun) becomes Ours
- Your (possessive adjective) becomes Our
Tense Changes
- Simple Present becomes Simple Past
Example:
Direct: He said, “I live in Paris.”
Reported: He said that he lived in Paris.
- Present Continuous/Progressive becomes Past Continuous/Progressive
Example:
Direct: He said, “I’m not feeling well.”
Reported: He said that he wasn’t feeling well.
- Present Perfect becomes Past Perfect
Example:
Direct: She said, “I’ve never been there.”
Reported: She said that she had never been there.
- Present Perfect Continuous becomes Past Perfect Continuous
Example:
Direct: He said, “She’s been working.”
Reported: He said that she had been working. (She’s = She has)
- Simple Past becomes Past Perfect
Example:
Direct: He said, “I saw my mother.”
Reported: He said that he had seen his mother.
- Future becomes Conditional
Example:
Direct: Mary said, “There will be a problem.”
Reported: She said that there would be a problem.
- Future Continuous becomes Conditional Continuous
Example:
Direct: Peter said, “I’ll be leaving soon.”
Reported: He said that he would be leaving soon.
Modal Verb Changes
Present Modals become Past Modals
- “I will go.” becomes He said he would go.
- “I can swim.” becomes She said she could swim.
- “It may rain.” becomes Efraín said it might rain.
- “I must go to the bank.” becomes Pablo said he had to go to the bank.
Negative Imperatives
When reporting a negative imperative (command), use “not” or “never” before the To-Infinitive.
Examples:
- Direct: He said, “Don’t wait.” Reported: He asked me not to wait. (Not “to not” or “to don’t”)
- Direct: She said, “Never do that again.” Reported: He told us never to do that again. (Not “to never”)
Asked and Told are followed by an object (noun, pronoun, or name) to show who receives the request. However, the verb said does not need an object.
These three verbs are followed by an infinitive (to + verb).
Adverbs of Time
Remember to report adverbs of time:
Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
Now | Then, at that moment |
Today / Tonight | That day / That night |
This morning | That Morning |
Yesterday | The day before, the previous day |
Tomorrow | The following day, the next day |
Last month | The month before, the previous month |
Here | There |