Virtuous English Academy
Reported Speech in English (B1)
- #B1
- #Grammar
- #Rules
- #Examples
Reported speech tells what someone said without quoting them exactly, and usually shifts the tense back one step. This lesson shows the tense changes, pronoun changes and how to report questions.
Reported speech is how you tell someone what another person said without quoting them directly. She said, I am tired becomes She said she was tired. The words shift out of the speaker's mouth and into yours, and several things change along the way — tense, pronouns, and expressions of time and place.
The central mechanism is backshift: when the reporting verb is in the past, the reported verb usually moves one step further back. Present becomes past, past becomes past perfect, will becomes would, can becomes could. This is the part learners must control, because it happens almost automatically for native speakers.
Backshift is not absolute, though, and B1 is where that nuance matters. If what was said is still true, speakers frequently leave the tense unchanged: She said she lives in Berlin is perfectly natural if she still does. The shift is obligatory only when the original statement no longer holds or when you want to distance yourself from it.
How to form Reported Speech and Backshift
| Direct speech | Reported speech | Example |
|---|---|---|
| present simple | past simple | I work here → He said he worked there. |
| present continuous | past continuous | I'm working → He said he was working. |
| past simple | past perfect | I saw her → He said he had seen her. |
| present perfect | past perfect | I've finished → He said he had finished. |
| will | would | I'll call → He said he would call. |
| can | could | I can help → He said he could help. |
| must | had to | I must go → He said he had to go. |
| may | might | I may come → He said he might come. |
Reported Speech and Backshift: the key rules
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After a past reporting verb, tenses step one back: present → past, past → past perfect, will → would.
'I'm tired' → She said she was tired. 'I'll call' → He said he would call.
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Pronouns, possessives and time words shift with the new perspective: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, here → there.
'I'll see you here tomorrow' → She said she'd see me there the next day.
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Reported questions use statement word order — no inversion, no question mark; yes/no questions take if/whether.
'Where do you live?' → He asked me where I lived. 'Are you ready?' → She asked if I was ready.
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Commands and requests become tell/ask + object + to-infinitive.
'Close the door, please' → She asked me to close the door.
When to use Reported Speech and Backshift
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Relaying messages
The everyday use — passing on what somebody told you.
She said she would be twenty minutes late.
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Reporting questions
Reported questions lose the inversion and the auxiliary, returning to statement word order.
He asked where I lived. She asked if I had finished.
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Reporting commands and requests
Imperatives become an infinitive with to, after tell or ask.
She told me to wait. He asked me not to call after nine.
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Distancing yourself from a claim
Backshift can signal that you do not necessarily endorse what was said.
He claimed he had never received the email.
say vs. tell
These two reporting verbs are not interchangeable, and the difference is purely structural.
say — no person, or with to
Never takes a direct personal object. If you name the listener, you need to.
She said she was busy. She said to me that she was busy.
tell — always with a person
Requires a personal object directly after it, with no preposition.
She told me she was busy. Never: She told that she was busy.
Reported Speech and Backshift in example sentences
- He said he was moving to Madrid.Present continuous backshifts to past continuous.
- She told me she had already spoken to them.Present perfect becomes past perfect; tell takes an object.
- They said they would let us know.will becomes would.
- He asked if I could work on Saturday.Yes/no question becomes if; can becomes could.
- She asked where I had put the file.Wh- question keeps the word order of a statement.
- The doctor told me to rest for a week.Command becomes to + infinitive.
- He said he lives in Prague.No backshift because it is still true.
- She said she'd been waiting since two.Present perfect continuous becomes past perfect continuous.
Reported Speech and Backshift in a real conversation
The second speaker reports what was said — track each backshift as it happens.
Petra:What did the landlord say?
Ali:He said the boiler had been repaired last week.
Petra:But it's still not working.
Ali:I told him it wasn't fixed. He asked if I had checked the pressure.
Petra:And?
Ali:He said he would send someone on Thursday, and told me not to touch anything.
Common mistakes (and how to fix them)
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He asked me where did I work.
He asked me where I worked.
Reported questions abandon question word order — subject before verb, no did.
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She said me she was leaving.
She told me she was leaving. / She said (that) she was leaving.
Say never takes a person object directly; tell always does.
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He told that he would help.
He told me that he would help.
Tell demands a person: tell someone something.
Practise Reported Speech and Backshift today
Reported questions are the hardest part — practise removing the inversion.
- Report six statements a friend made yesterday, applying backshift to each.
- Report four questions — two yes/no with if, two wh- questions.
- Report four commands using tell and ask with to plus infinitive.
- Correct these: She told that she was late. — He asked where did I live. — She said me to wait.
Reported Speech and Backshift: frequently asked questions
Do I always have to backshift the tense?
No. Backshift is obligatory when the reporting verb is past and the original statement is no longer true or its truth is irrelevant. When what was said remains true, speakers routinely leave the tense alone: She said she works in finance is natural if she still does. Backshift is also unnecessary when the reporting verb is present: She says she works in finance.
How do I report a question?
Remove the inversion and the auxiliary, so the clause takes normal statement word order. Where do you live? becomes He asked where I lived — not where did I live. For yes/no questions, add if or whether: Are you coming? becomes She asked if I was coming. Never use a question mark in reported speech, because the sentence is now a statement.
What happens to time and place expressions?
They shift to match the new speaking situation. Now becomes then, today becomes that day, tomorrow becomes the next day, yesterday becomes the day before, here becomes there, and this becomes that. So I'll see you here tomorrow becomes He said he would see me there the next day. These shifts follow common sense but are easy to forget under exam pressure.
Which reporting verbs should I know beyond say and tell?
A range of them makes reported speech far more precise: explain, admit, deny, suggest, promise, warn, advise, refuse, offer and complain. Each carries its own pattern — he admitted taking it, she refused to help, they suggested meeting later. Using varied reporting verbs is one of the clearest ways to lift a B1 text towards B2, because it conveys attitude as well as content.