We use reported speech when  PRESENT SIMPLE  PAST SIMPLE Personal pronouns change to the

we want to reproduce what  PRESENT CONTINUOUS  PAST CONTINUOUS third person singular or plural, except
somebody says or said. When  PAST SIMPLE PAST PERFECT when the speaker reports his own
we report what somebody said  PAST CONTINUOUS  PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS words:
in the past we have to change  PRESENT PERFECT  PAST PERFECT
 PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS  PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
the tense(s) we use in I like your new bike”, Mary told him
 PAST PERFECT  PAST PERFECT
reported speech. These tenses Mary told him that she liked his new
 PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS  PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
usually go one step back into  SIMPLE FUTURE  PRESENT CONDITIONAL bike.
the past.  PRESENT CONDITIONAL  PERFECT CONDITIONAL “I have never been to the zoo”, I said
Ex: “I feel tired”, he said.  CAN  COULD to my friend.
He said that he felt tired.  MAY  MIGHT I told my friend that I had never been
 MUST  MUST OR HAD TO to the zoo.

We do not need to change the

tense if the reporting verb is in
Time/place references are also changed in reported speech: the present, or if the original In reported statements we often use
 TODAY  THAT DAY statement was about something the verbs “say” and “tell”. We use
 NOW  THEN that is still true: 'say' when there is no indirect object:
 YESTERDAY  THE DAY BEFORE “Mary wants to go to the disco”, He said that he was tired.
 TOMORROW  THE NEXT DAY Peter says. Always use 'tell' when you say who
 NEXT WEEK/MONTH  THE FOLLOWING WEEK/MONTH was being spoken to (i.e. with an
 LAST WEEK/MONTH  THE WEEK/MONTH BEFORE Peter says that Mary wants to go indirect object):
 AGO  BEFORE to the disco. He told me that he was tired.
 THIS (TIME)  THAT “Mary’s boyfriend lives in Paris”, When we use “say” with an indirect
 THIS/THAT / + NOUN  THE + NOUN Sue told me. object we must use the preposition
 HERE  THERE “to” before the indirect object:
 GO  COME Sue told me that Mary’s He said to me that she was very
boyfriend lives in Paris. happy to be with him.

Put the following statements into reported speech. Use the

introductory verb in the past. Then, match the sentences with the
right picture.

1. “Mary and Paul are going to get married next week”, Jim said.
Jim told me to Mary and Paul are going to get married the following week.
14 8 12 2. “If Mum has time, she will make a cake for your birthday”, she said.
She said that her mum had time, she would a cake for my birthday.
3. “I often ask my father to help me with my homework”, Bill said.
Bill said that he often asks his father to help him with his homework.
4. “He spent the afternoon reading before his wife arrived”, Mary said.
Mary told me that he had spent the afternoon reading before his wife arrived.
5. “I´m very happy because I have just got my driving license”, I said.
10 3 7 I said I was happy because I had just got my driving license
6. “We have been shopping this afternoon”, my friends said.
My friends told me that they had been shopping this afternoon.
7. “If she accepts me, we will get married in June”, Peter told me.
Peter told me that if she accepted him, they would get married in June.
8. “Dave says he loves playing computer games”, my brother told me.
My brother told me that Dave said him loved playing computer games.
17 1 4 9. “I can´t go to the party. I’ve got a terrible headache”, Jim said.
Jim said that he couldn’t go to the party. He had got a terrible headache
10. “Bill’s father gets angry when his son arrives late”, they said.
They said the Bill’s father got angry when his son arrived late
11. “She doesn’t like doing the housework. She says it is boring”, I said.
I said that she didn’t like doing the housework
12. “John got a big present for his last birthday, his brother said.
18 13 2 His brother said that John had got a big present for his last birthday
13. “My father must travel a lot because he’s a salesman”, she said.
She said that her father had to travel a lot because he is a salesman
14. “He’s got the biggest nose I have ever seen”, Marta said.
Marta said that he was got the biggest nose she had ever seen
15. “If he drives so fast, he will have an accident”, his friend said.
His friend said that if he drove so fast, he would have an accident
6 16 15 16. “He studied very hard and got an excellent mark”, his teacher said.
His teacher said that he had studied very hard and had got and excellent mark
17. “I want to be a basketball player when I grow up”, Tim said.
Tim said that he wanted to be a basketball player when he grew up
18. “There are three people waiting at the bus stop”, she said.
She said that there were three people waiting at the bus stop.
5 9 11