Reported speech — Foreign languages, 14–17 years
How to retell someone’s words while fitting them into a new time, place and viewpoint. Foreign languages, 14–17 years.
Retelling, not replaying
Direct speech gives the original words: Maya said, “I am tired.” Reported speech gives the content from a new speaker’s viewpoint: Maya said that she was tired. Pronouns, verb forms and words such as “today” may change because the original speaker, time and place are no longer in front of us.
The problem of borrowed words
When a friend tells you what someone said, repeating every word and quotation mark is awkward. You need to preserve the message while making clear whose idea it is and when it was said. Reported speech solves this in conversations, journalism and stories. It also lets a speaker summarise instead of copying a whole sentence.
Retelling a message
Original message: Leo said, “I will meet you here tomorrow.” First, change “I” to “he”, because the new speaker is not Leo. Next, change “will” to “would” if the reporting verb is in the past. Then adjust place and time: “here” becomes “there” and “tomorrow” becomes “the next day”. The result is: Leo said that he would meet me there the next day.
Changing too much
A common mistake is to change every verb automatically, even when the fact is still true or the context has not shifted. This is reasonable because many textbooks teach tense changes as a pattern. But reported speech is about viewpoint, not a mechanical costume change. Ask whether the time, place or speaker’s perspective really changed.
In news and evidence
News reports use reported speech to separate a journalist’s words from a source’s claim: “The minister said that prices would fall.” In a group chat, you may report a classmate’s plan without copying the exact message. This form can summarise efficiently, but quotation marks are better when the exact wording matters.
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