Reported Speech: Revision Practice Tests with C1 Grammar Rules & Examples

Reported Speech: Revision

When we tell someone what another person said, we use reported speech (also called indirect speech). Instead of repeating the exact words, we report the meaning — and this usually requires changes to tenses, pronouns, time expressions, and modal verbs.

This lesson is a comprehensive revision of reported speech at an advanced level. We will review how to report statements, questions, commands, and requests accurately, and explore the more subtle rules that distinguish good writers and speakers at the C1 level.

Direct speech: She said, "I am working on a new project."
Reported speech: She said that she was working on a new project.

Understanding reported speech fully allows you to narrate conversations, summarise arguments, report news, and write academically with precision and fluency.

The Backshift Rule: Tense Changes in Reported Speech

When the reporting verb (e.g. said, told, asked) is in the past tense, the verb in the reported clause typically shifts one tense further into the past. This is called backshifting.

Direct Speech Tense	Reported Speech Tense
Present Simple → "I work here."	Past Simple → He said he worked there.
Present Continuous → "I am leaving."	Past Continuous → She said she was leaving.
Present Perfect → "I have finished."	Past Perfect → He said he had finished.
Past Simple → "I called you."	Past Perfect → She said she had called me.
Past Continuous → "I was waiting."	Past Perfect Continuous → He said he had been waiting.
Future Simple (will) → "I will help."	Conditional (would) → She said she would help.
Future Continuous → "I will be travelling."	Conditional Continuous → He said he would be travelling.
Future Perfect → "I will have finished."	Conditional Perfect → She said she would have finished.

Examples in context

Direct: "We are conducting a survey," the researcher said.
Reported: The researcher said that they were conducting a survey.

Direct: "I haven't received your report yet," the manager told him.
Reported: The manager told him that he hadn't received his report yet.

Direct: "The committee will announce its decision tomorrow," she said.
Reported: She said that the committee would announce its decision the following day.

When Backshifting Is NOT Required

Backshifting is not always obligatory. There are several important situations where you can — or must — keep the original tense.

1. When the information is still true or current

If the statement describes a general truth, a fact that has not changed, or a situation still relevant at the time of reporting, you may choose not to backshift.

Direct: "The Earth orbits the Sun," the teacher said.
Reported (both acceptable):
The teacher said that the Earth orbits the Sun. ✅
The teacher said that the Earth orbited the Sun. ✅

Direct: "I live in Edinburgh," she told him.
Reported (if still true): She told him she lives in Edinburgh. ✅

2. When using a present-tense reporting verb

If the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g. says, tells, explains, claims), there is no need to backshift.

Reported: He says he is running late.
Reported: She claims she has never met him.

3. After past perfect in direct speech

The past perfect does not change — it is already the furthest back in time.

Direct: "I had already submitted the application," she said.
Reported: She said she had already submitted the application.

Modal Verbs in Reported Speech

Some modal verbs change in reported speech; others stay the same. This is an area where many advanced learners make errors.

Direct Speech Modal	Reported Speech Modal
will	would
can	could
may (permission/possibility)	might
shall (offers/suggestions)	should / would
must (obligation)	had to or must
would	would (no change)
could	could (no change)
might	might (no change)
should	should (no change)
ought to	ought to (no change)
needn't	didn't need to / needn't

Examples in context

Direct: "You must submit the report by Friday," the director said.
Reported: The director said we had to submit the report by Friday.

Direct: "I might be wrong," he admitted.
Reported: He admitted that he might be wrong.

Direct: "Can you finish this today?" she asked.
Reported: She asked whether I could finish it that day.

Reported Questions

Reported questions differ significantly from direct questions. Understanding these differences is essential for C1 accuracy.

Key rules for reported questions:

• The word order changes to subject + verb (no inversion).
• Question marks are not used.
• Auxiliary verbs such as do, does, did are not used.
• Use whether or if for yes/no questions.
• Use the question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) for wh- questions.

Yes/No Questions

Direct: "Have you read the proposal?" she asked him.
Reported: She asked him whether / if he had read the proposal.

Direct: "Will you be attending the conference?" they asked.
Reported: They asked whether I would be attending the conference.

Wh- Questions

Direct: "Why did you resign?" the journalist asked her.
Reported: The journalist asked her why she had resigned.

Direct: "How long have you been working here?" he asked.
Reported: He asked how long she had been working there.

A note on embedded questions

Reported questions are a form of embedded question, where question word order does not apply:

"I don't know where he lives." (not: ~~where does he live~~)
"She wondered whether the meeting had been cancelled."

Reported Commands, Requests, and Advice

For commands, requests, advice, and instructions, we use a reporting verb followed by an object and a to-infinitive.

Pattern: Reporting verb + object + to-infinitive
Pattern (negative): Reporting verb + object + not to-infinitive

Type	Reporting Verb	Direct	Reported
Command	told, ordered, instructed	"Leave immediately!"	He told them to leave immediately.
Request	asked, requested, begged	"Please help me."	She asked him to help her.
Advice	advised, urged, warned	"You should rest."	The doctor advised her to rest.
Warning	warned, cautioned	"Don't touch that!"	He warned them not to touch it.
Offer	offered	"I'll carry that for you."	She offered to carry it for me.
Refusal	refused	"I won't sign that."	He refused to sign it.

Advanced Reporting Verbs

At the C1 level, using a range of precise reporting verbs greatly improves the quality of your writing and speech. Different verbs convey different nuances of meaning.

Reporting verbs followed by that + clause

• admit, agree, argue, claim, complain, confirm, deny, explain, insist, promise, reveal, suggest, warn

Example: She insisted that the decision had been made without consultation.
Example: He denied that he had been involved in the fraud.

Reporting verbs followed by to-infinitive

• agree, offer, promise, refuse, threaten, claim, demand

Example: She threatened to take legal action.
Example: He agreed to reconsider his position.

Reporting verbs followed by -ing

• admit, deny, suggest, recommend, regret, propose, acknowledge

Example: He admitted taking the documents without permission.
Example: She suggested postponing the meeting until next week.

Reporting verbs followed by object + to-infinitive

• advise, ask, encourage, instruct, invite, order, remind, tell, urge, warn, persuade, beg

Example: The consultant urged the board to consider all options carefully.
Example: She reminded him to submit the documents before the deadline.

Verbs with multiple patterns

Some verbs allow more than one pattern, sometimes with a change in meaning:

suggest: He suggested that we leave early. / He suggested leaving early.
recommend: She recommended that he take the advanced course. / She recommended taking the advanced course.
promise: She promised to return it. / She promised that she would return it.

Changes to Pronouns, Determiners, and Time Expressions

When converting direct speech to reported speech, several other words must also change to maintain logical meaning.

Pronoun and Determiner Changes

Direct Speech	Reported Speech (typical change)
I	he / she / I (depends on speaker)
you	I / he / she / they (depends on audience)
we	they / we
my	his / her / my
your	my / his / her / their
our	their / our
this	that
these	those

Time Expression Changes

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 / month / year	the previous week / month / year
next week / month / year	the following week / month / year
ago	before / previously
here	there
this morning / evening / week	that morning / evening / week

Full example with multiple changes

Direct: "I will meet you here tomorrow morning," she said.
Reported: She said that she would meet him there the following morning.

Reporting with say vs. tell

These two very common reporting verbs are frequently confused. The rule is straightforward but important:

say — does not take a direct object (we do not say who was spoken to)
tell — always takes a direct object (we must say who was spoken to)

Correct	Incorrect
She said that she was busy.	❌ She said me that she was busy.
She told me that she was busy.	❌ She told that she was busy.
He said nothing.	❌ He told nothing.
He told us the news.	❌ He said us the news.

Reporting Suggestions and Recommendations

Suggestions and recommendations are commonly reported using specific structures. Pay careful attention to the following patterns:

Using suggest and recommend

Pattern 1: suggest/recommend + that + subject + bare infinitive (formal/subjunctive)
"I suggest that the board reconsider its approach."
She suggested that the board reconsider its approach.

Pattern 2: suggest/recommend + -ing
"Why don't we call the client first?"
She suggested calling the client first.

Pattern 3: suggest/recommend + that + subject + should + bare infinitive
He recommended that she should apply for the senior position.

Important Differences and Special Cases

Reporting speech that is still current

When you report something very recently said or something the speaker still believes, you may choose not to backshift. Both options are grammatically acceptable, but the no-backshift version implies the information is still valid.

Reported (backshifted): He said he was working on a solution.
Reported (not backshifted): He said he is working on a solution. (Perhaps he's still working on it now.)

Conditional sentences in reported speech

Real conditionals (first conditional) typically backshift; unreal conditionals (second and third) generally remain unchanged as they are already in past forms.

Direct (1st conditional): "If you revise, you will pass."
Reported: She said that if I revised, I would pass.

Direct (2nd conditional): "If I were you, I would resign."
Reported: He said that if he were me, he would resign. (no change)

Direct (3rd conditional): "If she had applied, she would have got the job."
Reported: He said that if she had applied, she would have got the job. (no change)

Reporting questions with question words as subjects

When the question word is the subject of the direct question, the word order in the reported question is identical to the direct question — with no inversion needed.

Direct: "Who wrote this report?"
Reported: She asked who had written the report.

Direct: "What caused the delay?"
Reported: He wanted to know what had caused the delay.

Reporting must (obligation vs. deduction)

Must has two distinct meanings, and each is reported differently:

Obligation: "You must attend the meeting."
Reported: She said we had to attend the meeting.

Deduction/certainty: "She must be exhausted."
Reported: He said she must be exhausted. (no change — deduction remains must)

Common Mistakes

❌ She said me that the project had been postponed.
✅ She told me that the project had been postponed. (Use tell + object, not say + object)

❌ He asked where did she work.
✅ He asked where she worked. (No inversion in reported questions; do not use question word order)

❌ The manager said that he will send the report.
✅ The manager said that he would send the report. (Backshift will to would)

❌ She told to them to be quiet.
✅ She told them to be quiet. (No to between told and the object)

❌ He asked me if I can help him tomorrow.
✅ He asked me if I could help him the next day. (Backshift modal and time expression)

❌ She suggested me to take the earlier flight.
✅ She suggested that I take the earlier flight. or She suggested taking the earlier flight. (suggest is not followed by object + infinitive)

❌ They admitted to make a mistake.
✅ They admitted making a mistake. (admit is followed by -ing, not to-infinitive)

❌ He denied that he took the files.
✅ He denied that he had taken the files. (Backshift: past simple → past perfect)

❌ She asked him where is the nearest station.
✅ She asked him where the nearest station was. (Subject-verb inversion is not used in reported questions)

❌ I told that the deadline was the following week.
✅ I said that the deadline was the following week. (tell requires an object; if there is none, use say)

Reported Speech: Quick Summary

• In reported speech, we typically backshift the verb tense when the reporting verb is in the past.
• Backshifting is optional when the information is still true or when using a present-tense reporting verb.
• Modal verbs change as follows: will → would, can → could, may → might; but would, could, might, should, ought to do not change.
• Must (obligation) → had to; must (deduction) → no change.
• Reported questions use statement word order (no inversion, no auxiliary do/does/did), and require if/whether for yes/no questions.
• Commands and requests use: reporting verb + object + to-infinitive (or not to for negatives).
• Tell always requires a direct object; say does not take one.
• Suggest and recommend are followed by -ing or that + subject + bare infinitive / should — never by object + infinitive.
• Pronouns, demonstratives (this/that), and time/place expressions must be adjusted logically.
• Second and third conditionals generally do not backshift in reported speech as they are already in past forms.

Now practise reported speech in the exercises below.