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What is a Reported Speech?
Grade Level:
Class 1
NLP, Law, History, Social Sciences, Literature, Journalism, Communication
Definition
What is it?
Reported speech is when you tell someone what another person said, but you don't use their exact words. It's like summarizing a conversation. We often change pronouns, tenses, and time expressions when we use reported speech.
Simple Example
Quick Example
Imagine your friend, Rohan, says, 'I will buy a new cricket bat today.' If you tell your mom about it, you would say, 'Rohan said that he would buy a new cricket bat today.' You didn't use Rohan's exact words but conveyed the same message.
Worked Example
Step-by-Step
Let's change a direct speech sentence into reported speech.
Direct Speech: Priya said, 'I am going to the market now.'
Step 1: Identify the speaker and what they said. Speaker: Priya. What she said: 'I am going to the market now.'
---Step 2: Add a reporting verb like 'said that'. So it becomes: Priya said that...
---Step 3: Change the pronoun 'I' to 'she' because Priya is a girl. Priya said that she...
---Step 4: Change the present continuous tense 'am going' to past continuous 'was going'. Priya said that she was going...
---Step 5: Change the time expression 'now' to 'then'. Priya said that she was going to the market then.
Answer: Priya said that she was going to the market then.
Why It Matters
Understanding reported speech helps you communicate clearly and accurately, especially when sharing information. Journalists use it to report news, lawyers use it to present testimonies, and authors use it to tell stories effectively. It's a key skill for good communication in many careers.
Common Mistakes
MISTAKE: Not changing the tense of the verb. For example, saying: He said that he is hungry. | CORRECTION: Change the present tense to past tense: He said that he was hungry.
MISTAKE: Forgetting to change time and place words. For example, saying: She said that she would come here tomorrow. | CORRECTION: Change 'here' to 'there' and 'tomorrow' to 'the next day': She said that she would come there the next day.
MISTAKE: Using quotation marks in reported speech. For example, saying: He told me, 'he liked the movie'. | CORRECTION: Remove quotation marks in reported speech: He told me that he liked the movie.
Practice Questions
Try It Yourself
QUESTION: Change to reported speech: My friend said, 'I love dosa.' | ANSWER: My friend said that he/she loved dosa.
QUESTION: Convert to reported speech: The teacher said, 'You must submit your homework by Friday.' | ANSWER: The teacher said that we/they had to submit our/their homework by Friday.
QUESTION: Rewrite in reported speech: My sister told me, 'I bought a new mobile phone yesterday, and I will show it to you tomorrow.' | ANSWER: My sister told me that she had bought a new mobile phone the previous day and she would show it to me the next day.
MCQ
Quick Quiz
Which of these is the correct reported speech for: He said, 'I am busy today.'
He said that I am busy today.
He said that he was busy today.
He said that he was busy that day.
He said that I was busy that day.
The Correct Answer Is:
C
Option C is correct because the pronoun 'I' changes to 'he', the tense 'am busy' changes to 'was busy', and the time expression 'today' changes to 'that day'.
Real World Connection
In the Real World
When you read news articles about a politician's speech or a cricket captain's press conference, the reporter often uses reported speech to tell you what was said. For example, a news channel might report, 'The Chief Minister stated that new flyovers would be built in the city.' This helps you get information quickly without reading the entire original speech.
Key Vocabulary
Key Terms
DIRECT SPEECH: The exact words spoken by someone, usually in quotation marks. | REPORTING VERB: A verb (like said, told, asked) that introduces reported speech. | TENSE CHANGE: Modifying the verb's form (e.g., present to past) in reported speech. | PRONOUN CHANGE: Changing words like 'I', 'you' to 'he', 'she', 'they' in reported speech. | TIME EXPRESSION: Words like 'now', 'today', 'tomorrow' that often change in reported speech.
What's Next
What to Learn Next
Next, you can learn about changing questions and commands into reported speech. This will help you report even more types of conversations accurately and make your communication skills even stronger!
