Reported Speech: What Did They Say? (B2)
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B2 ⏱ 5 minutes
Reported Speech: What Did They Say?
🔎 Direct Speech vs Reported Speech
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| “I don’t understand.” | She said she didn’t understand. |
| “I am learning French.” | He said he was learning French. |
| “We have finished.” | They said they had finished. |
| “I will help you.” | She said she would help me. |
| “I can speak Bengali.” | He said he could speak Bengali. |
🔎 The Tense Backshift Rule
When reporting past speech, tenses shift one step back in time:
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| present simple | past simple |
| present continuous | past continuous |
| past simple | past perfect |
| will | would |
| can | could |
| must / have to | had to |
📚 Say vs Tell
| Verb | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| say | say (that) … | She said (that) she was tired. |
| tell | tell + person + (that) … | She told me (that) she was tired. |
✗ She told that she was tired. ✓ She told me that she was tired.
📚 More Examples
- “I love La Réunion.” → She said she loved La Réunion.
- “We are going to Paris next week.” → They told me they were going to Paris the following week.
- “I have never visited Bangladesh.” → She said she had never visited Bangladesh.
- “I will call you tomorrow.” → He told me he would call me the next day.
- “I don’t understand why you are laughing.” → She said she didn’t understand why I was laughing.
👥 Practice Task
Report each sentence using said or told (with the correct tense backshift).
- “I work in a restaurant in Sydney.” (He / say)
- “We are moving to France next year.” (They / tell / us)
- “I can’t come to the dinner.” (She / say)
- “I have already met Vanessa.” (He / tell / me)
- “It will be a long journey.” (She / say)
👁️ Show Answers
- He said he worked in a restaurant in Sydney.
- They told us they were moving to France the following year.
- She said she couldn’t come to the dinner.
- He told me he had already met Vanessa.
- She said it would be a long journey.
💬 Speaking Practice
Think of something someone said to you recently. Report it using said or told. Try these prompts:
- My teacher told me that…
- My friend said that…
- My manager told me that…
Cambridge CELTA course completed — 120 supervised teaching hours and four written assignments validated to the required standard. Independent project. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.
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