Reported speech

Tense Direct Speech Reported Speech

present simple I like ice cream She said (that) she liked ice cream.
present
I am living in London She said (that) she was living in London.
continuous
She said (that) she had bought a car OR She said (that)
past simple I bought a car
she bought a car.
past I was walking along
She said (that) she had been walking along the street.
continuous the street
present perfect I haven't seen Julie She said (that) she hadn't seen Julie.
will I'll see you later She said (that) she would see me later.
I can speak perfect
can She said (that) she could speak perfect English.
English
shall I shall come later She said (that) she would come later.
I must study at the She said (that) she must study at the weekend OR She
must
weekend said she had to study at the weekend
Reported Questions

Direct Question Reported Question

Where is the Post Office, please? She asked me where the Post Office was.
What are you doing? She asked me what I was doing.
Who was that fantastic man? She asked me who that fantastic man had been.

Direct Question Reported Question

Do you love me? He asked me if I loved him.
Have you ever been to
She asked me if I had ever been to Mexico.
Mexico?
Are you living here? She asked me if I was living here.

Reported Requests
Direct Request Reported Request
Please help me. She asked me to help her.
Please don't smoke. She asked me not to smoke.
Could you bring my book tonight? She asked me to bring her book that night.
Would you mind coming early
She asked me to come early the next day.
tomorrow?
Reported Orders

Direct
Reported Order
Order
Go to bed! He told the child to go to bed.
Don't worry! He told her not to worry.
Time Expressions with Reported Speech

now then / at that time

today yesterday / that day / Tuesday / the 27th of June
the day before yesterday / the day before / Wednesday / the 5th of
yesterday
December
last night the night before, Thursday night
last week the week before / the previous week
tomorrow today / the next day / the following day / Friday
this / these that / those

here there

ago before

Reported Speech Quiz

You can do this grammar quiz online or print it on paper. It tests what you learned on
the Reported Speech pages.
1.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

6. Ram asked me where I worked. His original words were

 "Do you work there?"

 "Where do I work?"
 "Where do you work?"

7. "Don't yell!" is a

 direct request
 direct order
 reported order

8. "Please wipe your feet." I asked them to wipe

  your feet nicely
 their feet nicely
 their feet

9. She always asks me not to burn the cookies. She always says

 "Not to burn the cookies!"

 "Please don't burn the cookies."
 "Do not burn the cookies."

10. Which structure is not used for reported orders?

 order somebody to
 tell somebody to
 ask somebody to

Modal verbs
Here is a list of the most common modals with examples:

Modal Verb Expressing Example

Strong obligation You must stop when the traffic lights turn red.

logical conclusion / He must be very tired. He's been working all

must Certainty day long.
He must have been very tired. He had been
working all day long.

must not prohibition You must not smoke in the hospital.

ability I can swim.

can permission Can I use your phone, please?

impossibility He can’t have graduated. He failed his tests

 ability in the past When I was younger I could run fast.

polite permission Excuse me, could I just say something?

could
possibility It could rain tomorrow!
He could have joined the university but he
didn’t.

permission May I use your phone, please?

may
possibility, probability It may rain tomorrow!

polite permission Might I suggest an idea?

might possibility, probability I might go on holiday to Australia next year.

He might have been sick yesterday. I am not
sure

lack of necessity/absence I need not buy tomatoes. There are plenty of

need not
of obligation tomatoes in the fridge.

50 % obligation I should / ought to see a doctor. I have a

terrible headache.
should/ought
advice You should / ought to revise your lessons
to
logical conclusion He should / ought to be very tired. He's been
working all day long.

had better advice You'd better revise your lessons

Active and passive voice: overview chart

 Active Voice Sentence Passive Voice Sentence
Simple Present Tense
These laws frighten us. We are frightened (by these laws).
Am / is / are +p.p
Simple Past Tense
The judge sent Frank to jail. Frank was sent to jail.
Was / were +p.p
Present Progressive Tense
Sam is fixing the T.V. The TV is being fixed by Sam.
Is / am / are + v.ing Is / am / are + being + p.p
Present Perfect Tense
Nobody has (ever) told me this.
I have (never) been told this (by anybody).
have / has + p.p
have / has + been + p.p

Past Perfect Tense

I had been given this (by him) before you left.
He had given this to me before you left.
had + been + p.p
had + p.p

Infinitive Phrase
I have to do my homework right now. My homework has to be done right now.
Have / has to + inf Have / has to + be + p.p
I am going to finish this by six o'clock. This is going to be finished by six o'clock.
Am / is /are + going to + inf Am / is /are + going to + be + p.p
Modals
The judge will put them in prison. They will be put in prison.
will + inf Will + be + p.p
People must respect the law. The law must be respected.
must + inf Must + be + p.p
I believe that people should tell the
I believe that the truth should be told.
truth.
Should + be + p.p
should + inf
Drugs would affect his life. His life would be affected by drugs.
would + inf Would + be + p.p
Past Progressive Tense  
Sam was fixing the T.V. The TV was being fixed by Sam.
Was / were + v.ing Was / were + being + p.p
 

TIP Sheet
DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES

Following are the three specific rules which explain the use of definite and indefinite articles.

Rule #1 - Specific identity not known: Use the indefinite article a or an only with a singular
count noun whose specific identity is not known to the reader. Use a before nouns that begin
with a consonant sound, and use an before nouns that begin with a vowel sound.

 Use the article a  or an to indicate any non-specified member of a group or category.
I think  an  animal is in the garage
That man is  a scoundrel.
We are looking for  an  apartment.

 Use the article a or an to indicate one in number (as opposed to more than one).
I own  a cat and two dogs.

 Use the article a before a consonant sound, and use an before a vowel sound.

A boy, an apple

◊ Sometimes an adjective comes between the article and noun:

An  unhappy boy,  a red apple

 The plural form of a  or an is some. Use some to indicate an unspecified, limited amount (but more than
one).
An  apple, some  apples

Rule #2 - Specific identity known: Use the definite article the with any noun (whether singular
or plural, count or noncount.) when the specific identity of the noun is known to the reader, as
in the following situations:

 Use the article the when a particular noun has already been mentioned previously.
I ate  an  apple yesterday. The  apple was juicy and delicious.

 Use the article the when an adjective, phrase, or clause describing the noun clarifies or restricts its
identity.
The  boy sitting next to me raised his hand.
Thank you for the advice you gave me.

 Use the article the when the noun refers to something or someone that is unique.
the theory of relativity
the 2003 federal budget

Rule #3 - All things or things in general: Use no article with plural count nouns or any
noncount nouns used to mean all or in general. 

 Noncount nouns are those which usually cannot be counted. Following are some common examples:
◊ Certain food and drink items: bacon, beef, bread, broccoli, butter, cabbage, candy, cauliflower,
celery, cereal, cheese, chicken, chocolate, coffee, corn, cream, fish, flour, fruit, ice cream, lettuce, meat,
milk, oil, pasta, rice, salt, spinach, sugar, tea, water, wine, yogurt

◊ Certain nonfood substances: air, cement, coal, dirt, gasoline, gold, paper, petroleum, plastic, rain,
silver, snow, soap, steel, wood, wool

◊ Most abstract nouns: advice, anger, beauty, confidence, courage, employment, fun, happiness, health,
honesty, information, intelligence, knowledge, love, poverty, satisfaction, truth, wealth

◊ Areas of study: history, math, biology, etc.

◊ Sports: soccer, football, baseball, hockey, etc.

◊ Languages: Chinese, Spanish, Russian, English, etc.

◊ Other: clothing, equipment, furniture, homework, jewelry, luggage, lumber, machinery, mail, money,
news, poetry, pollution, research, scenery, traffic, transportation, violence, weather, work

 Geographical names are confusing because some require the and some do not.
◊ Use the  with: united countries, large regions, deserts, peninsulas, oceans, seas, gulfs, canals, rivers,
mountain ranges, groups of islands

The Gobi Desert the United Arab Emirates

the Sacramento River the Aleutians

◊ Do not use the with: streets, parks, cities, states, counties, most countries, continents, bays, single
lakes, single mountains, islands

Japan Chico Mt. Everest San Francisco Bay

 
Relative Clauses
The relative pronouns are:

Pronoun Stands For Uses

who people substitutes for subject nouns/pronouns (he, she, we, they)

whom people substitutes for object nouns/pronouns (him, her, us, them)

whose people or substitutes for possessive nouns/pronouns (his, hers, ours, theirs)
things

that people or can be used for either subject or object

things
can only be used in restrictive relative clauses (see below)

which things can be used for either subject or object

can be used in non-restrictive relative clauses

can also be used in restrictive relative clauses, though some people don’t like
this use