Issue — March 2026

Reported Speech: Telling Stories Secondhand

B2 Grammar 44 sentences

Reported Speech: Telling Stories Secondhand 0 / 44

Speed

How to pass on what someone said — without losing the meaning.

Explanation

Reported speech (also called indirect speech) lets us pass on what another person said without quoting their exact words. When the reporting verb is in a past tense, the verb inside the reported clause usually moves one step back in time. This change is called backshift.

Typical tense shifts:

Present simple → past simple: "I work here" → She said she worked there.
Present continuous → past continuous: "I am waiting" → He told me he was waiting.
Past simple → past perfect: "I saw the film" → She said she had seen the film.
Will → would; can → could; may → might; must (obligation) → had to.

Time and place expressions also shift: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, here → there, this → that.

Note: modals that already refer to the past (would, could, should, might, ought to) do not change.

Examples

1. Direct: "I am leaving tomorrow." Reported: She said (that) she was leaving the next day.

2. Direct: "I will call you." Reported: He told me he would call me.

3. Direct: "I can help you later." Reported: She mentioned that she could help me later.

Useful reporting verbs beyond say and tell: admit, deny, explain, suggest, warn, remind, complain.

Reported Speech: Telling Stories Secondhand — image 2

Common mistakes

Forgetting backshift. ❌ He said he is busy. ✅ He said he was busy.
Using tell without an object. ❌ She told that she was tired. ✅ She told me (that) she was tired. (Use say with no object.)
Changing modals that don't shift. ❌ He said he could might come. ✅ He said he might come.
Leaving time words unchanged. ❌ She said she would call tomorrow. ✅ She said she would call the next day.
Over-using that after short verbs. With say and tell, the word that is optional in informal English.

In real life

Mia: How did the meeting go?

Leo: Tom told me that the boss had approved the project, but he warned us that we still had to finish the report by Friday.

Mia: Did he mention any problems?

Leo: Yes, he admitted that the budget was tight, but he suggested that we could cut the marketing costs.

Mia: So, are we celebrating tonight?

Leo: Absolutely! He told everyone to bring their team to the restaurant at seven.

Quiz

0/5

1What does the term 'backshift' refer to in reported speech?

Backshift is the rule that verbs in the reported clause usually move one step back in time.
2According to the article, when does 'must' usually NOT change in reported speech?

The article states that 'must' stays as 'must' when it expresses a strong deduction, but becomes 'had to' for obligation.
3Which time expression correctly replaces 'tomorrow' in reported speech?

In reported speech, 'tomorrow' typically becomes 'the next day' or 'the following day'.
4In the dialog, what did Tom suggest the team could do?

Leo says Tom 'suggested that we could cut the marketing costs'.
5Why is 'She told that she was tired' incorrect?

Unlike 'say', the verb 'tell' requires a person as an object (e.g. 'told me').

Must Know 8

backshift Noun In English grammar, backshift refers to the shift of verb tenses in reported (indirect) speech, where present tenses typically become past tenses to reflect that the reported event is being viewed from a past perspective.
direct speech Noun The reporting of speech by repeating the exact words of the speaker, typically enclosed in quotation marks, as opposed to indirect (reported) speech.
modal verb Noun A type of auxiliary verb that expresses necessity, possibility, permission, or ability (such as can, must, may, would, should).
reported speech Noun A way of reporting what someone said without repeating their exact words, usually by changing tense, pronouns, and time expressions; also called indirect speech.
reporting clause Noun A reporting clause is the main clause in a sentence of reported (indirect) speech that contains a verb of communication such as 'say', 'tell', or 'ask' (e.g., 'She said' in 'She said that she was tired'). It introduces the reported clause.
reporting verb Noun A verb used to report what someone said, thought, asked, or felt, typically followed by a 'that'-clause or an indirect question. Common examples include 'say', 'tell', 'ask', and 'reply'.
tense shift Noun A change from one verb tense to another within a text, often used in narrative, reported speech, or when describing events across different time frames.
time expression Noun A word or phrase in grammar that indicates when an action occurs, such as 'yesterday', 'tomorrow', 'last week', or 'at 5 PM'. It specifies the temporal context of an event.