Reported (indirect) speech

Reported speech tells what someone said without using their exact words.

Changes we make

• Remove the quotation marks.
• Use a reporting word: said that, told, asked.
• Move the tense one step back: is → was, am → was, are → were, will → would, can → could, simple present → simple past.
• Change pronouns: I → he/she, my → his/her.
• Change time words: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the previous day, now → then, here → there.

Examples