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

Reported Speech – Change of Words

When we report what someone said, we do not only change the verb tense. We also change certain words — words like pronouns, time expressions, and place words. This is called the change of words in reported speech.

Understanding these changes will help you sound natural and accurate when you tell someone what another person said.

Let's start with a simple situation:

Anna says to you: "I am going to the cinema tomorrow with my friend. You can come here to meet us."

Later, you tell your flatmate what Anna said:

"Anna said she was going to the cinema the next day with her friend. She said I could go there to meet them."

Notice how several words changed — not just the verbs. In this lesson, we look at all the key word changes in reported speech.

Why Do Words Change in Reported Speech?

When someone speaks directly, they use words that make sense at that moment — words like "now", "here", "today", and "I". But when we report their words later (perhaps in a different place or time), those words no longer make sense. So we change them.

There are three main groups of words that change:

• Pronouns (I, you, we, my, your, etc.)
• Time expressions (now, today, yesterday, tomorrow, etc.)
• Place words (here, this, these, etc.)

1. Change of Pronouns in Reported Speech

A pronoun is a word like I, you, he, she, we, they, me, him, her, us, them. We use pronouns instead of repeating a name. In reported speech, pronouns change depending on who is speaking and who is being spoken about.

Basic Pronoun Changes

Imagine Tom says to you: "I am tired and my bag is heavy."

You report this to a friend: "Tom said he was tired and his bag was heavy."

The word I changed to he because we are now talking about Tom, not ourselves.

Important Tip About Pronouns

The pronoun you choose in reported speech depends on who said it and who it was said to. Ask yourself:

• Who is the speaker? → Use he / she / they
• Was the word said to me? → Use I / me / my
• Was the word said to a group that includes me? → Use we / us / our

2. Change of Time Expressions in Reported Speech

Time words are very important in reported speech. Words like now, today, tomorrow, and yesterday make sense when you say them in the moment. But if you are reporting something that was said earlier — perhaps yesterday or last week — those time words need to change.

Common Time Expression Changes

Imagine on Monday your friend says: "I will call you tomorrow."

On Wednesday, you tell another friend: "She said she would call me the next day."

The word tomorrow changed to the next day because "tomorrow" only means Tuesday if we say it on Monday — but now it is Wednesday!

When Do You NOT Need to Change Time Words?

If you are reporting something very soon after it was said — for example, just a few minutes later — the time words may stay the same. The change is most important when you are reporting something said at a clearly different time.

Your friend says at 9 am: "I have a meeting today."
You tell someone at 9.05 am: "She said she has a meeting today." ✅ (Still makes sense — it is still the same day.)

But if you tell someone the following day:
"She said she had a meeting that day." ✅

3. Change of Place Words in Reported Speech

Words that refer to a place or object nearby also change in reported speech. These are sometimes called demonstratives — words like this, that, these, those, here, and there.

Place and Demonstrative Changes

Imagine your teacher says in class: "Read this chapter and come back here tomorrow."

Later you tell a classmate: "The teacher said to read that chapter and go back there the next day."

Putting It All Together – Full Examples

Let's look at longer sentences where multiple words change at the same time.

Example 1

Direct speech: "I will finish my project today and send it to you." – said by Marco to his manager.

Reported speech: Marco told his manager that he would finish his project that day and send it to her.

Example 2

Direct speech: "We bought this house two years ago and we love living here." – said by a couple.

Reported speech: They said they had bought that house two years before and they loved living there.

Example 3

Direct speech: "You can borrow my car tomorrow." – said by Lisa to you.

Reported speech: Lisa said I could borrow her car the next day.

Important Differences and Special Cases

Special Case 1: "You" Can Change to Different Pronouns

The word you in direct speech can change to I, me, we, us, they, or them in reported speech — depending on who was being spoken to.

"You look tired." (said to me) → She told me I looked tired.

"You all need to study." (said to a group) → The teacher said they all needed to study.

Special Case 2: Not All Words Always Change

If the reported speech is about a fact that is still true, or if it was said only moments before, some words may not need to change.

"Water boils at 100 degrees." → She said water boils at 100 degrees. ✅ (Scientific fact — no change needed.)

Special Case 3: "This" Used as a Determiner (before a noun)

When this comes before a noun (like "this book"), it changes to that in reported speech.
When these comes before a noun (like "these ideas"), it changes to those.

"I love this music." → She said she loved that music.

"These results are surprising." → He said those results were surprising.

Common Mistakes

❌ She said she will call me tomorrow.
✅ She said she would call me the next day. (The tense and time word must both change.)

❌ He told that he is busy now.
✅ He said he was busy then. (Use "said", not "told", without an object. Also change "now" to "then".)

❌ They said they bought this house two years ago.
✅ They said they had bought that house two years before. (Change "this" → "that" and "ago" → "before".)

❌ Lisa said I will lend you my car tomorrow.
✅ Lisa said she would lend me her car the next day. (Change all pronouns and the time word.)

❌ He said he is going here after work.
✅ He said he was going there after work. (Change "here" → "there" and use the correct past tense.)

❌ My teacher said we must finish these exercises today.
✅ My teacher said we had to finish those exercises that day. (Change "must" → "had to", "these" → "those", and "today" → "that day".)

Reported Speech – Change of Words: Quick Summary

Here is a summary of all the key changes in reported speech:

Remember these three key rules:

• Pronouns change based on who is speaking and who was spoken to.
• Time expressions change to show that the words were said at a different time.
• Place words like here, this, and these change to there, that, and those.

Now practise reported speech – change of words in the exercises below.