in reported speech now changes into

Indirect speech, also called reported speech, allows us to share another person’s exact words without using quotes. It is particularly useful in written language. This tutorial aims to brief you …

But, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech: Direct speech: I like ice cream. Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.

In this guide, we will explain in detail how to change direct speech into indirect speech and provide lots of examples of reported speech to help you understand. Here are the key aspects of converting direct speech into …

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech.

Below is a reported speech tense change chart with the rules for backshifting for each tense and for modal verbs. You will see reported speech does not go back a tense if it is already in the past perfect (there is no further back it can go), and …

Indirect speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words. In indirect speech, the structure of the reported clause depends on whether the speaker …

In reported speech, tense changes occur to reflect the shift in time from when the statement was made to when it is being reported. For instance, statements made in the present tense are …