Reported Speech

​We use reported speech to tell what someone said or asked without using a direct quotation.

1- With reporting speech, we usually shift the verb back one tense. We shift the pronoun from I or we to she/he or they.
Example:
Mathews said, "Revision is the party!"
Mathews said (that) revision was the party.

​We use reported speech to tell what someone said or asked without using a direct quotation.

2- If the situation being reported hasn't changed or is a general truth or routine, leave the verb the same or shift it back one tense. Both are correct depending on the meaning.
Example:
Collins: "I try to write very fast." (This is his routine, which hasn't changed.)
Collins said (that) he tries/ tried to write very fast..

​We use reported speech to tell what someone said or asked without using a direct quotation.

3- For reported questions, use ask in the reported clause, and change the question to statement word order. For information questions, use the wh- question word to introduce the reported question.
Example:
Plimpton asked, "How do you revise your poetry?"
Plimpton asked how I revise my poetry.

​We use reported speech to tell what someone said or asked without using a direct quotation.

4- For yes/no questions, use if or whether to introduce the reported question.
Example:
Plimpton asked, "Is it a passing thought?"
Plimpton asked if it was a passing thought.

​We use reported speech to tell what someone said or asked without using a direct quotation.

Note: Use tell as the reporting verb if there is a direct object in statements.
Example:
Collins told him (that) the first line is important.
Not Collins said him (that) the first line is important.