Indirect speech

We use the direct speech when we repeat exactly the words someone used and we enclose them in quotation marks.

We use the indirect speech when we report what someone said using reporting verbs and that.

When the reporting verb is in the present, tenses of the reported sentences are not changed

Words expressing nearness in time or places are generally changed into words expressing distance.

Change of place and time Direct Speech Word Indirect Speech Word

Here There

Today that day

this morning that morning

Yesterday the day before

Tomorrow the next day

next week the following week

next month the following month

Now Then

Ago Before
 Thus So

Last Night the night before

This That

These Those

Hither Thither

Hence Thence

Come Go

Change in Pronouns

The pronouns of the Direct Speech are changed where necessary, according to their relations with the reporter and his hearer, rather
than with the original speaker. If we change direct speech into indirect speech, the pronouns will change in the following ways.

Direct Indirect
I / you / we he / she / they
My / your His/ her / their
This / these That / those
 Rules Direct Speech Indirect Speech

The first person of the reported speech changes according to She says, "I am in tenth class." She says that she is in tenth class.
the subject of reporting speech.

The second person of reported speech changes according to He says to them, "You have He tells them that they have
the object of reporting speech. completed your job." completed their job.

The third person of the reported speech doesn't change. She says, "She is in tenth class." She says that she is in tenth class.

Tense change

As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right):

Direct speech Indirect speech

Present simple Past simple

She said, "It's cold." She said it was cold.
Present continuous Past continuous

She said, "I'm teaching English online." She said she was teaching English online.
Present perfect simple
Past perfect simple
She said, "I've been on the web since
She said she had been on the web since 1999.
1999."
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I've been teaching English for She said she had been teaching English for
seven years." seven years.
Past simple Past perfect

She said, "I taught online yesterday." She said she had taught online yesterday.
Past continuous Past perfect continuous

She said, "I was teaching earlier." She said she had been teaching earlier.
Past perfect Past perfect
She said, "The lesson had already NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already
started when he arrived." started when he arrived.
Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I'd already been teaching for NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been
five minutes." teaching for five minutes.

Modal verb forms also sometimes change:

 Direct speech Indirect speech
will would

She said, "I'll teach English online tomorrow." She said she would teach English online tomorrow.
can could

She said, "I can teach English online." She said she could teach English online.
must had to

She said, "I must have a computer to teach English online." She said she had to have a computer to teach English online.
shall should

She said, "What shall we learn today?" She asked what we should learn today.
may might

She said, "May I open a new browser?" She asked if she might open a new browser.
VERBS

The most used verbs in the reported speech are say and tell. Tell is used when we express the person to whom someone is talking.

Tina said that she couldnt go to work that afternoon.

Tina told me that she couldnt go to work that afternoon.

Some verbs explain more clearly the meaning of the sentence like answer, explain, promise, suggest, advise, exclaim

Reported speech with wh-words

When we report questions, the structure of the sentence is the following one:

He/she/they asked/wanted to know Wh-word + subject + verb (without do/does/did)

Whats your address?: She asked me what my address was

Whats the time?: He asked what the time was.

Hows Jill? He wanted to know how Jill was

Who did you meet yesterday? Sue asked us who we had met the day before.
Reported speech with if / whether

When we report yes/no questions, these are introduced by if/whether

Did you see Mary? She asked if/whether I had seen Mary

Orders and requests

If the sentence expresses an order or request it is reported with an infinitive and introduced by tell, ask, order, forbid, invite

Stay in bed for one more day, the doctor said to me. The doctor ordered me to stay in bed one more day.

Please dont open the window. Its cold in here Tim said to his brother.

Tim asked his brother not to open the window because it was cold in there.
http://www.english-for-students.com/DirecttoIndirectSpeech.html

LINKS

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech

http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/reportedspeech.htm

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/reported.htm

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-lesson-reported-speech.php

http://www.e-grammar.org/reported-speech/ exercises

http://www.englishpractice.com/improve/rules-change-pronouns-indirect-speech/

Rules for the Change of Pronouns in Indirect Speech

ADVANCED

http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/nounclause1.html