Reported Speech Change of Tense Practice Tests with B1 Grammar Rules & Examples

Reported Speech: Change of Tense

When we tell someone what another person said, we use reported speech (also called indirect speech). One of the most important rules in reported speech is that the tense of the verb usually changes — it moves one step back into the past.

For example, imagine your friend Anna says to you:

"I am tired."

Later, you tell another friend what Anna said. You do not say "Anna says she is tired" (unless she is still tired right now). Instead, you report it like this:

Anna said she was tired.

The verb am changed to was. This is the reported speech change of tense. In this lesson, you will learn exactly how each tense changes when you report what someone said.

Why Does the Tense Change?

When someone speaks, their words are happening now (in the present). But when we report those words later, we are looking back at something that was said in the past. Because the reporting verb (for example, said or told) is in the past tense, the verb inside the reported speech also moves back into the past.

Think of it like taking one step backwards in time:

Present → Past
Past simple → Past perfect
Will → Would

This "step back" is sometimes called backshift.

Reported Speech Change of Tense: The Key Rules

Rule 1: Present Simple → Past Simple

If the direct speech uses the present simple tense (for example: I work, she eats, they live), it changes to the past simple in reported speech (for example: I worked, she ate, they lived).

Pattern:
Direct speech: present simple (verb / verb+s)
Reported speech: past simple (verb+ed or irregular past)

Example 1:
Direct: Tom said, "I work in a hospital."
Reported: Tom said that he worked in a hospital.

Example 2:
Direct: She said, "My sister lives in Paris."
Reported: She said that her sister lived in Paris.

Example 3:
Direct: They said, "We enjoy football."
Reported: They said that they enjoyed football.

Rule 2: Present Continuous → Past Continuous

If the direct speech uses the present continuous (for example: I am reading, she is cooking), it changes to the past continuous (for example: I was reading, she was cooking).

The present continuous is formed with am/is/are + verb+ing.
The past continuous is formed with was/were + verb+ing.

Pattern:
Direct speech: am/is/are + verb+ing
Reported speech: was/were + verb+ing

Example 1:
Direct: Lucy said, "I am studying for my exam."
Reported: Lucy said that she was studying for her exam.

Example 2:
Direct: He said, "The children are playing in the garden."
Reported: He said that the children were playing in the garden.

Rule 3: Present Perfect → Past Perfect

If the direct speech uses the present perfect (for example: I have seen, she has finished), it changes to the past perfect (for example: I had seen, she had finished).

The present perfect is formed with have/has + past participle.
The past perfect is formed with had + past participle.

Pattern:
Direct speech: have/has + past participle
Reported speech: had + past participle

Example 1:
Direct: Maria said, "I have visited Rome."
Reported: Maria said that she had visited Rome.

Example 2:
Direct: He said, "We have already eaten."
Reported: He said that they had already eaten.

Rule 4: Past Simple → Past Perfect

If the direct speech uses the past simple (for example: I bought, she called, we went), it changes to the past perfect (for example: I had bought, she had called, we had gone) in reported speech.

Pattern:
Direct speech: past simple (verb+ed / irregular past)
Reported speech: had + past participle

Example 1:
Direct: James said, "I called you yesterday."
Reported: James said that he had called me the day before.

Example 2:
Direct: She said, "We went to the cinema on Friday."
Reported: She said that they had gone to the cinema on Friday.

Rule 5: Will → Would

If the direct speech uses will (to talk about the future), it changes to would in reported speech.

Pattern:
Direct speech: will + base verb
Reported speech: would + base verb

Example 1:
Direct: She said, "I will help you."
Reported: She said that she would help me.

Example 2:
Direct: He said, "It will rain tomorrow."
Reported: He said that it would rain the next day.

Rule 6: Can → Could

If the direct speech uses can, it changes to could in reported speech.

Pattern:
Direct speech: can + base verb
Reported speech: could + base verb

Example 1:
Direct: She said, "I can speak Spanish."
Reported: She said that she could speak Spanish.

Example 2:
Direct: He said, "We can meet at noon."
Reported: He said that they could meet at noon.

Reported Speech Tense Change: Full Summary Table

Direct Speech Tense	Reported Speech Tense	Example (Direct)	Example (Reported)
Present simple (I work)	Past simple (I worked)	"I work here."	She said she worked there.
Present continuous (I am working)	Past continuous (I was working)	"I am working."	She said she was working.
Present perfect (I have worked)	Past perfect (I had worked)	"I have worked here."	She said she had worked there.
Past simple (I worked)	Past perfect (I had worked)	"I worked there."	She said she had worked there.
Will (I will go)	Would (I would go)	"I will go."	She said she would go.
Can (I can swim)	Could (I could swim)	"I can swim."	She said she could swim.

Other Modal Verb Changes in Reported Speech

Modal verbs are special verbs like will, can, may, might, must, shall. Some of them also change in reported speech. Here is a quick guide:

Direct Speech Modal	Reported Speech Modal
will	would
can	could
may	might
shall	would
must	had to
might	might (no change)
could	could (no change)
would	would (no change)
should	should (no change)

Example with must → had to:
Direct: He said, "You must finish the report."
Reported: He said that I had to finish the report.

Example with may → might:
Direct: She said, "I may be late."
Reported: She said that she might be late.

Changes to Time and Place Words

When we change direct speech to reported speech, we also often change time words and place words. This is because the context is now different — the person is reporting from a different time or place.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
now	then / at that moment
today	that day
yesterday	the day before / the previous day
tomorrow	the next day / the following day
last week	the week before / the previous week
next week	the following week
here	there
this	that
these	those
ago	before / earlier

Example:
Direct: She said, "I will call you tomorrow."
Reported: She said that she would call me the next day.

Example:
Direct: He said, "I saw her yesterday."
Reported: He said that he had seen her the day before.

Important Differences and Special Cases

When the Reporting Verb Is in the Present Tense

If the reporting verb is in the present tense (for example: says, tells, explains), the tense of the reported verb does not need to change. This is because the information is still relevant and current.

Example:
Direct: Anna says, "I am tired."
Reported: Anna says that she is tired. ✅ (No change — the reporting verb is in the present)

Compare this with:

Reported: Anna said that she was tired. ✅ (Tense changes — the reporting verb is in the past)

When the Fact Is Still True

If the reported information is a general fact or something that is still true, many speakers do not change the tense. Both forms are often acceptable.

Example:
Direct: The teacher said, "The Earth moves around the Sun."
Reported: The teacher said that the Earth moves around the Sun. ✅
Reported: The teacher said that the Earth moved around the Sun. ✅ (also correct)

At B1 level, it is safest to always apply the tense change unless your teacher tells you otherwise.

Past Perfect Stays the Same

The past perfect (had + past participle) does not change in reported speech. It is already as far back as we go.

Example:
Direct: She said, "I had already left when he arrived."
Reported: She said that she had already left when he arrived. ✅ (no change)

Pronoun Changes

Remember that pronouns (words like I, you, we, my, your) also change in reported speech depending on who is speaking and who is listening.

Example:
Direct: Tom said to me, "I will help you."
Reported: Tom said that he would help me.

Common Mistakes with Reported Speech Tense Change

❌ She said that she is tired.
✅ She said that she was tired.
(When the reporting verb is "said", the tense must change.)

❌ He said that he will come to the party.
✅ He said that he would come to the party.
("Will" changes to "would" in reported speech.)

❌ They told me they have finished the work.
✅ They told me they had finished the work.
("Have finished" (present perfect) changes to "had finished" (past perfect).)

❌ She said she can speak French.
✅ She said she could speak French.
("Can" changes to "could" in reported speech.)

❌ He said that he buyed a new car.
✅ He said that he had bought a new car.
(The past simple changes to past perfect, and "buy" is irregular: bought — not "buyed".)

❌ She said she would call me tomorrow.
✅ She said she would call me the next day.
(Time words also change in reported speech.)

Reported Speech Change of Tense: Quick Summary

Here are the key points to remember about the reported speech change of tense:

• When the reporting verb is in the past tense (e.g. said, told), the verb in the reported clause moves one step back into the past.
• Present simple → Past simple (e.g. work → worked)
• Present continuous → Past continuous (e.g. am working → was working)
• Present perfect → Past perfect (e.g. have worked → had worked)
• Past simple → Past perfect (e.g. worked → had worked)
• Will → Would
• Can → Could
• May → Might
• Must → Had to
• Past perfect does not change — it stays as had + past participle.
• Time and place words also change (e.g. tomorrow → the next day, here → there).
• If the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g. says, tells), the tense in the reported clause usually does not need to change.

Now practise reported speech change of tense in the exercises below.