GRAMMAR & STRUCTURE
Reported Speech

Definition

Reported speech reports what a person said, thought, or told another person.

Example

Dave said that he was hungry.

Explanation

Reported speech:

• uses reporting verbs (say, tell, ask) to explain what a person said at an earlier time.
• has the structure reporting verb + that + statement.
• changes the verb in the reported sentence to a "more past" tense when the speaker is reporting something from the past.
• does not change the verb when what a person said is connected to the present.
• use pronouns to refer to the original speaker.
• uses the reporting verb "ask" to report a yes / no question: ask + person addressed + if + statement.
• uses the reporting verb "ask" to report an information question: subject + asked + object + wh-word + statement.

Related Sections

Past Perfect
Pronouns
Questions