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Indirect Speech for all Tenses - Rules

The verb in the first part of the sentence (e.g., he said, she said) is called a reporting verb. The second part of the sentence, enclosed in inverted commas or quotation marks, is called a reported speech. For converting direct speech into indirect speech, the tense of the reported speech is changed. See the following example.

Direct speech:
He said, “I am writing a letter”.
Indirect speech:
He said that he was writing a letter.

  Rules for Change of Tense in Indirect Speech

  If the reporting verb (first part) of the sentence is in present or future tense, the tense of the reported speech is not changed while converting direct speech into indirect speech.

Example.
Direct speech:
He says, “Sara is going to school”.
Indirect speech:
He says that Sara is going to school. (Tense not changed)

  If the reporting verb (first part) of the sentence is in past tense, the tense of the reported speech is changed for converting direct speech into indirect speech.

Example.
Direct speech:
He said, “Sara is going to school”.
Indirect speech:
He said that Sara was going to school. (Tense changed)

  Rules for change of tense and examples are as follows:

Present simple tense into Past simple tense.
Present continuous tense into Past continuous tense.
Present perfect tense into Past perfect tense.
Present perfect continuous tense into Past perfect continuous tense.

Past simple tense into Past perfect tense.
Past continuous tense into Past perfect continuous tense.
Past perfect tense remains unchanged.
Past perfect continuous tense remains unchanged.

Future simple tense: will into would.
Future continuous tense: will be into would be.
Future perfect tense: will have into would have.
Future perfect continuous tense: will have been into would have been.

Note. The simple tenses are also known as indefinite tenses. Similarly, the continuous tenses are also known as progressive tenses.

Direct Speech
Indirect Speech
PRESENT TENSE
PRESENT SIMPLE changes into PAST SIMPLE
He said, “I write a letter”.
He said that he wrote a letter.
She said, “I teach kids”.
She said that she taught kids.
They said, “We play football”.
They said that they played football.
You said, “I eat an apple”.
You said that you ate an apple.
She said, “I work in a hospital”.
She said that she worked in a hospital.
He said, “I do not like coffee”.
He said he did not like coffee.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST CONTINUOUS
He said, “I am waiting for a bus”.
He said that he was waiting for a bus.
She said, “I am drinking water”.
She said that he was drinking water.
They said, “We are decorating the room”.
They said that they were decorating the room.
He said, “I am enjoying the music”.
He said that he was enjoying the music.
You said, “ David is driving a car”.
You said that David was driving a car.
He said, “I am not going to college”.
He said that he was not going to college.
PRESENT PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT
She said, “I have bought a camera”.
She said that she had bought a camera.
He said, “I have finished the work”.
He said that he had finished the work.
They said, “We have spent all the money”.
They said that they had spent all the money.
You said, “David has passed the exam”.
You said that David had passed the exam.
They said, “We have started a business”.
They said that they had started a business.
He said, “I have not received the letter”.
He said that he had not received the letter.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
He said, “I have been living in London since 2018”.
He said that he had been living in London since 2018.
She said, “I have been teaching students for five years”.
She said that she had been teaching students for five years.
They said, “We have been working in a factory for three years”.
They said that they had been working in a factory for five years.
The engineer said, “I have been repairing a machine since 10 AM”.
The engineer said that he had been repairing a machine since 10 AM.
You said, “It has been raining for three hours”.
You said that it had been raining for three hours.
He said, “The patient has not been taking medicine for three days”.
He said that the patient had not been taking medicine for three days.

 

Direct Speech
Indirect Speech
PAST TENSE
PAST SIMPLE changes into PAST PERFECT
He said, “I saw a joker”
He said that he had seen a joker.
She said, “I broke the glass”.
She said that she had broken the glass.
They said, “We won a prize”.
They said that they had won a prize.
You said, “I bought a car”.
You said that you had bought a car.
He said, “I did not enjoy the party”.
He said that he had not enjoyed the party.
PAST CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
He said, “I was writing a story”.
He said that he had been writing a story.
She said, “I was washing the shirts”.
She said that she had been washing the shirts.
They said, “We were watching a movie”.
They said that they had been watching a movie.
She said, “I was not making a noise”.
She said that she had not been making a noise.
PAST PERFECT remains the same.
He said, “I had resolved the issue”.
He said that he had resolved the issue.
She said, “I had completed the task”.
She said that she had completed the task.
David said, “I had gone to school”.
David said that he had gone to school.
She said, “I had not received the letter.
She said that she had not received the letter.
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS remains the same.
He said, “I had been using the same car since 2005.
He said that he had been using the same car since 2005.
She said, “I had been reading a book since 10 AM”.
She said that she had been reading a book since 10 AM.
They said, “We had been helping poor people for three years.
They said that they had been helping poor people for three years.

Direct Speech
Indirect Speech
FUTURE TENSE
FUTURE SIMPLE: will changes into would be
He said, “I will buy a camera”.
He said that he would buy a camera.
He said, “I will go to London”.
He said that he would go to London.
She said, “I will wear a new dress”.
She said that she would wear a new dress.
They said, “We will celebrate the birthday of our son”.
They said that they would celebrate the birthday of their son.
You said, “I will not waste my time”.
You said that you would not waste your time.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS: will be changes into would be
He said to me, “I will be waiting for you”.
He said to me that he would be waiting for me.
She said, “I will be cleaning the room.
She said that she would be cleaning the room.
The kids said, “We will be playing with toys”.
The kids said that they would be playing with toys.
He said, “The patient will not be feeling well”.
He said that the patient would not be feeling well.
FUTURE PERFECT: will have changes into would have
He said, “I will have started a new job.
He said that he would have started a new job.
She said, “I will have cooked some food”.
She said that she would have cooked some food.
They said, “We will have succeeded in our mission”.
They said that they would have succeeded in their mission.
He said, “David will have spoken the truth”.
He said that David would have spoken the truth.
They said, “We will not have finished the work.
They that they would not have finished the work.
FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS: will have been changes into would have been
He said, “David will have been living in America since 10th April”.
He said that David would have been living in America since 10th April.
She said, “I will have been listening to the music since 9 AM.
She said that she would have been listening to the music since 9 AM.
They said, “We will have been going to college since Monday”.
They said that they would have been going to college since Monday.
You said, “I will not have been using my camera for seven days”.
You said that you would not have been using your camera for seven days.



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