English Tip · 06 — Reported Speech — What She Said

Reported speech shifts the tense back and changes pronouns and time expressions. The rule: step back one tense from what was said.

Examples

• Direct: ‘I’m leaving tomorrow.’
• Reported: She said she was leaving the next day.
• am → was   /   tomorrow → the next day

Practice

Listen to a podcast or conversation. Choose one sentence someone says. Write it in reported speech. Did you shift the tense and change the pronoun?

Takeaway: Tense shift + pronoun change + time word change = correct reported speech.

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