Reported Speech in English: Tenses, Modals, Pronouns and Reported Questions

Reported Speech

1. Tense Changes

• am → was
• am working → was working
• was → had been
• was working → had been working
• had finished → had finished
• had been working → had been working
• have + past participle → had + past participle
• have been working → had been working
• will finish → would finish
• will have + past participle → would have finished

2. Modal Verbs

• Can → could (present)
• Can → would be able to (future)
• May → might
• May → could (present)
• May → would be allowed to (future)
• Must → must
• Needn't → didn't need to (present)
• Needn't → wouldn't have to (future)
• Shall → would (future)
• Shall → should (advice)
• Will → would

3. Time and Place Expressions

• Today → that day
• Tomorrow → the next day
• Now → at that moment
• At the present → at the time
• Present / current → existing / current
• In one hour → one hour later
• Last week, last night → the week before, the night before
• Next year, next month → the following year, the following month
• Yesterday → the day before
• This evening → that evening
• ... days ago → ... days before
• Tonight → that night
• In two weeks' time → two weeks later
• Ago → before
• Here → there
• There → there
• In this room → in that room

4. Pronoun Changes

• I → he / she
• Me → him / her
• My → his / her / the
• Mine → his / hers
• We → they
• Us → them
• Our → their / the
• Ours → theirs
• You → they / them / their / the
• Yours → theirs
• This → that / the
• These → those / the
• This book → that book

5. Reported Questions

• Do you like...? → he asked me if I liked...
• Will you come...? → he asked me if I would come...
• Are you feeling...? → he asked me if I was feeling...
• Did you do...? → he asked me if I had done...
• Have you finished...? → he asked me if I had finished...
• Were you there last...? → he asked me if I had been there last...
• What are you doing? → he asked me what I was doing.
• Where are you going? → he asked me where I was going.
• Who are you here with? → he asked me who I was there with.
• When are you leaving? → he asked me when I was leaving.
• How are you going to do it? → he asked me how I was going to do it.

6. Reported Commands

• Do your homework → he told me to do my homework.
• Don't talk in class → he told me not to talk in class.
• Be quiet → he told us to be quiet.