Direct & Indirect Speech
🔒 Log in to trackReporting verbs and the mechanics of the shift
🔒 Log in to trackDirect speech quotes the speaker's exact words inside inverted commas. Indirect speech (also called reported speech) tells the same words in your own sentence. The quotes and the comma go, a joining word like that comes in, and the reporting verb often changes. So the first job is to pick the right reporting verb and the right joining word.
What changes when you report speech
Direct: She said to me, "I am tired." Indirect: She told me that she was tired.
Three things change every time:
- The comma and the inverted commas go. A connector (joining word) takes their place.
- The reporting verb often changes: said to becomes told.
- A question loses its question order. It becomes a plain statement.
Rule: Fix the reporting verb and the connector first. Then work on tense, pronouns and time words.
Say and tell
- Tell needs a listener: told me, told us, told him.
- Say needs no listener: He said that he was late.
- said to + person becomes told + person: He said to me becomes He told me.
Watch: Said me does not exist. Told that he was late (no listener) is also wrong in exam English. Told to the staff is wrong too. Write told the staff.
The tone of the quote picks the verb
Read the quoted words and name their tone. Then pick the matching verb.
| Tone of the quote | Reporting verb | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | told / said | that |
| Yes/No question | asked | if / whether |
| Wh-question | asked | the wh-word itself |
| Order | ordered / told + person | to + V1 |
| Request (please, kindly) | requested | to + V1 |
| Advice | advised | to + V1 |
| Suggestion (let us) | suggested / proposed | V-ing, or that ... should |
| Hurrah! (joy) | exclaimed with joy | that |
| Alas! (sorrow) | exclaimed with sorrow | that |
| Wish or prayer | wished / prayed | that |
Tip: A please-sentence reported with ordered is wrong, even if every tense is perfect. Exams plant exactly this.
When the reporting verb is in the present
If the reporting verb is present (says, asks, has said) or future (will say), the tense inside the quote does not move.
He says, "I am busy." becomes He says that he is busy.
Only the pronoun changes here. An option with was or would is the planted fault. Watch for says quietly turned into said.
One connector only
- Statements take that.
- Yes/No questions take if or whether. Never that.
- Orders, requests and advice take to + base verb. Never that.
Use exactly one connector. Asked that if and told that to come are always wrong.
Other small changes
- The inverted commas, the comma and the question mark all disappear.
- The capital letter of the quote is dropped. The reported sentence ends with a full stop.
- The listener stays in the object form: told me, asked him, requested her.
- With a general truth, that is still the connector: He said that honesty is the best policy.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
said to + listener becomes told + listener
The quote is a statement. The stem has 'said to me / him / us'. One option keeps 'said to'; another drops the listener after told.
Spot 'said to' + a person. It must become told + that person.
Add the connector 'that'.
Then check tense, pronouns and time words.
Reject options that keep 'said to', or use told with no listener.
Say never takes a listener while tell must, so each wrong option forgets one of these.
Select the indirect form: She said to me, 'I am very busy today.'
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'Said to me' becomes 'told me'.
Add 'that'.
am becomes was; I becomes she; today becomes that day.
She told me that she was very busy that day.
Tone decides the reporting verb
The quote has 'please' or 'kindly', an order, advice or a suggestion. The options differ mainly in the reporting verb.
Name the tone: please = request, command = order, advice, let us = suggestion.
Attach the frame: requested / ordered / advised + person + to + V1; suggested + V-ing.
Reject options whose tense is right but whose verb is the wrong tone.
Each tone has one matching verb, so the verb can settle the answer before you compare tenses.
Select the indirect form: The doctor said to Father, 'Give up smoking.'
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The doctor is giving advice.
Advice takes 'advised + person + to + V1'.
'Requested' makes it a favour; 'ordered' makes it a command.
The doctor advised Father to give up smoking.
Present reporting verb: no backshift
The frame is 'says', 'often says', 'has said' or 'will say'. One option changes the tense; the right one keeps it.
Check the tense of the reporting verb first.
Present or future frame: keep the tense of the quote.
Change only the pronouns.
Reject options that turn says into said.
Backshift shows that time has passed. A present reporting verb has no gap in time, so nothing moves back.
Select the indirect form: Ravi says, 'I do not like loud music.'
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'Says' is present, so the tense stays.
Only the pronoun changes: I becomes he.
do not like stays as does not like.
Ravi says that he does not like loud music.
One connector, the right one
Options stack two connectors (asked that if, told that to). Or a reported question keeps do / does / did.
Match the type: statement = that; yes/no = if or whether; wh = the wh-word alone; order = to + V1.
Count the connectors. Only one is allowed.
In a reported question, remove do / does / did. The tense goes on the main verb.
One clause takes one connector. Stacking two, or keeping a helper verb with nothing to do, is always wrong.
Select the indirect form: Priya asked me, 'Are you coming to the fair?'
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It is a yes/no question, so use 'if'.
After 'if', use statement order: I was coming.
'Asked me that if' has two connectors. 'If was I coming' has the wrong order.
Priya asked me if I was coming to the fair.
Suggestion with let us
The quote starts with 'Let us' or 'Let's'. Options mix suggested, ordered and told.
Spot 'Let us' or 'Let's'. It is a suggestion.
Use 'suggested + V-ing' or 'suggested that they should + V1'.
Reject 'ordered' and 'told', and reject 'suggested to go'.
'Let us' invites the listener to join in. It is neither an order nor advice.
Select the indirect form: Meena said to us, 'Let us plant some trees.'
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'Let us' is a suggestion, so the verb is 'suggested'.
Use the -ing form: planting.
Or use 'that we should plant'.
Meena suggested planting some trees.
Shortcuts that save time
Before you touch tense or pronouns, name the tone of the quote: order, advice, request, question, joy or sorrow. The matching verb alone often removes two options.
The coach said to the players, 'Please arrive by six.' Which reporting verb fits?
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The word 'please' marks a request.
A request takes 'requested + person + to + V1'.
'Ordered' is too harsh and 'advised' changes the meaning.
requested
Use said to + person, or told + person. Never mix them. Any option with said me or told to me is wrong.
Statement: that. Yes/No question: if or whether. Wh-question: the wh-word alone. Order, request, advice: to + V1.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Writing 'He said me' or 'told to me'.
Say 'said to me' or 'told me'. Tell takes its listener directly.
Using 'asked that' for a yes/no question.
Use 'asked if' or 'asked whether'.
Keeping the inverted commas or the comma after the reporting verb.
Remove them. Write the reported words as a plain clause.
Using 'ordered' for a polite request.
Match the tone: please = requested, advice = advised.
Backshifting the tense when the reporting verb is 'says'.
A present or future reporting verb means the tense stays the same.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
said to + person becomes told + person. Tell always has a listener; say does not.
Statement: that. Yes/No: if or whether. Wh: the wh-word. Order, request, advice: to + V1.
Hurrah: exclaimed with joy. Alas: exclaimed with sorrow.
Present or future reporting verb (says, asks, will say): no tense change inside.
Use one connector only. That never pairs with if, whether or to.
Write told the staff, not told to the staff.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 8 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.