Show Menu
Cheatography

Reported Speech Cheat Sheet by

A helpful guide for students to learn and practice Reported Speech

Verb & Word Changes

Simple Present
→
Simple Past
"I am exhaus­ted."
 
"He said he was exhaus­ted­"
Present Continuous
→
Past Continuous
"I am learning how to play violin."
 
"She said she was learning how to play violin."
Past Simple
→
Past Perfect
"I hung out with my friend­s."
 
"He said he had hung out with his friend­s."
Present Perfect
→
Past Perfect
"I haven't eaten lunch yet."
 
"She said she hadn't eaten lunch yet."
Past Perfect
→
Past Perfect
"I had already seen that movie."­
 
"He said he had already seen that movie."­
Will
→
Would
"I will help you with your studie­s."
 
"She said she would help me with my studie­s."
Can
→
Could
"I can speak 3 langua­ges."
 
"He said he could speak 3 langua­ges."
Must
→
Had to
"­Eve­ryone must be in class at 7pm."
 
"She said that everyone had to be in class at 7pm."
May
→
Might
"I may be a bit late."
 
"He said he might be a bit late."
Should
→
No Change
"You should download this new game!"
 
"She said I should download that new game."
Would
→
No Change
"I would like a salad with my meal."
 
"He said he would like a salad with his meal."
Ought to
→
No Change
"You ought to study more."
 
"She said that I ought to study more."
Could
→
No Change
"We could see a movie."­
 
"He said we could see a movie."­
Might
→
No Change
"I might stay home."
 
"She said she might stay home."

The verb "­tel­l" focuses more on the specific person who is receiving the inform­ation.

The verb "­sai­d" is more general and doesn't need a specific person receiving the inform­ation.

Reported Commands

"Don't run in the house."­
→
"She told me not to run in the house."­
"Stop talking."
→
"He told us to stop talking."

For commands, we add the object (the person receiving the command) and the infinitive "­to" after "­tel­l".
 

Reported Questions

Question Words
"Why are you so sad?"
→
"She asked me why I was so sad."
"When is your birthd­ay?­"
→
"He asked me when my birthday was."
Yes / No Questions
"Is this lesson super difficult for you?"
→
"She asked me if/whether the lesson was super difficult for me?"
"Do you like Englis­h?"
→
"He asked me if/whether I liked Englis­h."

Questions in Reported Speech change to affirm­ative, we don't repeat the question in the same structure.

"­Yes­/No­" questions use "­if/­whe­the­r" when we change them to Reported Speech.

Pronoun Changes

I
→
He / She
You
→
I / He / She / We / They
He / She
→
He / She
It
→
It
They
→
They
We
→
They
Us
→
Them
Me
→
Him / Her
My
→
His / Her
Our / Ours
→
Their / Theirs
Your
 
His / Her / Their

Time Expression Changes

Today
→
That day
Tonight
→
That night
Tomorrow
→
The following day / The next day
Yesterday
→
The day before / The previous day
Last night
→
The previous night / The night before
Last week
→
The previous week / The week before
Next week
→
The following week / The next week
Now
→
Then
Ago
→
Before

Position Expression Changes

This
→
That
These
→
Those
Here
→
There
Bring
→
Take
Come
→
Go
 

Comments

No comments yet. Add yours below!

Add a Comment

Your Comment

Please enter your name.

    Please enter your email address

      Please enter your Comment.