Reported Speech

Reported Speech

Study the following sentences.

1. Direct "We will present the paper tomorrow," said the committee.

Reported The committee said that they would present the paper the following

day.

2. Direct Write your full name, please," said the clerk.

Reported The clerk asked me to write my full name.

Reported speech refers to reproducing another person's exact words. When we use reported

speech, we are usually talking about the past. If the "reporting verb" is in form of the simple

past tense or the past perfect tense, the tense, pronoun, and adverb of place the "reported

words" will change.

Verb Tense Changes

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present Simple Past Simple He said,"I present my paper."	PAST SIMPLE He said he presented his paper.
Present Continuous He said,"I am presenting my paper."	Past Continuous He said he was presenting his paper.
Present Perfect He said,"I have presented my paper."	Past Perfect He said he had presented his paper
Past Simple He said,"I presented my paper."	Past Perfect He said he had presented his paper
Past Continuous He was presenting his paper	Past Perfect Continuous He said he had been presenting his paper
Future Simple He said,"I will present my paper."	Future Simple in the Past He said he would present his paper.