Reported Speech Examples: Direct and Indirect Speech
Reported Speech Examples
Direct and Indirect Speech
1. “He works in a bank.”
She said (that) he worked in a bank.
2. “We went out last night.”
She told me (that) they went (had gone) out last night (the night before).
3. “I’m coming!”
She said (that) she was coming.
4. “I was waiting for the bus when he arrived.”
She told me (that) she had been waiting for the bus when he arrived.
5. “I’d never been there before.”
She said (that) she had never been there before.
6. “I didn’t go to the game.”
She told me (that) she didn’t go (hadn’t gone) to the game
7. “Lucy will come later.”
She said (that) Lucy would come later.
8. “He hasn’t eaten breakfast.”
She told me (that) he hadn’t eaten breakfast.
9. “I can help you tomorrow.”
She said (that) she could help me tomorrow.
10. “You should go to bed early.”
She told me (that) I should go to bed early.
11. “I don’t like chocolate.”
She told me (that) she didn’t like chocolate.
12. “I won’t see you tomorrow.”
She said (that) she wouldn’t see me tomorrow.
13. “She’s living in Paris for a few months.”
She said (that) she was living in Paris for a few months
14. “I visited my parents over the weekend.”
She told me (that) she visited (had visited) her parents at the weekend.
15. “She hasn’t eaten sushi before.”
She said (that) she hadn’t eaten sushi before.
16. “I hadn’t travelled by underground before I came to London.”
She said (that) she hadn’t travelled by underground before she came to London.
17. “They would help if they could.”
She said (that) they would help if they could.
18. “I’ll do the washing-up later.”
She told me (that) she would do the washing-up later.
19. “He could read when he was three.”
She said (that) he could read when he was three.
20. “I was sleeping when Julie called.”
She said (that) she had been sleeping when Julie called.
More Examples of Reported Speech
1. The spokesman said: “I can’t understand why billiards has been prohibited.”
The spokesman said that he couldn’t understand why billiards had been prohibited.
2. Gihan exclaimed: “We have had too many prohibitions.”
Gihan exclaimed that they had too many prohibitions.
3. The young lady said: “I did not make such a mistake.”
The young lady said that she had not made such a mistake.
4. She said: “We’ll go and get some food.”
She said that that they would go and get some food.
5. Winston Churchill said: “I wake up at six every day”
Winston Churchill said that he woke up at six every day.
6. A company representative said: “This probably won’t happen.”
A company representative said that probably wouldn’t happen.
7. A farmer said: “If the situation goes on like this, we will lose the consumers’ confidence for ever”.
A farmer said that if the situation went on like that they would lose the consumers’ confidence for ever.
8. He added: “We need someone who will realise that celibacy has to be a personal choice”.
He added that they needed someone who would realise that celibacy had to be a personal choice.
9. She said: “I think the amount of immigrants right now is OK, but I don’t think we need any more”.
She said that she thought the amount of immigrants at that moment was OK, but she didn’t think they needed any more.
10. He said: “In Japan paper-folding was valued for its decorative function”.
He said that in Japan paper-folding had been valued for its decorative function.
11. “If I don’t win this game, I will retire,” Kasparov said.
Kasparov said that if he didn’t win that game he would retire.
12. The police said: “Youssef planned the World Trade Centre bombing”.
The police said that Youssef had planned the World Trade Centre bombing.
13. She said: “As a woman, my life will change with the new millennium”.
She said that as a woman, her life would change with the new millennium.
14. “I watched a documentary about dolphins on TV yesterday,” said John.
John said that he had watched a documentary about dolphins on TV the day before.
15. “I’m living the adventure of my life,” Banderas said.
Banderas said that he was living the adventure of his life.
16. Al Gore said: “As a teenager, one of the books that I read was Silent Spring.”
Al Gore said that as a teenager, one of the books that he had read had been Silent Spring.
17. “I was taught information technology in this course,” she said.
She said that she had been taught information technology in that course.
18. My aunt said: “Single men should drive slowly if they want to live longer”
My aunt said that single men should drive slowly if they wanted to live longer.
19. He said: “We are here today to reach consensus”
He said that they were there that day to reach consensus.
20. Last week Julia said: “We will meet our new instructor tomorrow”
Last week Julia said that they would meet their new instructor the following day.
21. He said to one of them: “Let me see the streets once more before I die. I’ll be back in five minutes.”
He asked one of them to let him see the streets once more before he died, and then he promised to be back in five minutes.
22. “Please, don’t say anything to him”, he said.
He begged her not to say anything to him.
23. “Don’t talk to me like that,” said his mother.
His mother told him not to talk to her like that.
24. She said: “Don’t smoke if you want to save money.”
She advised him not to smoke if he wanted to save money.
25. “Buy me the paper if you’re going out”, Alice asked her brother.
Alice asked her brother to buy her the paper if he was going out.
26. He asked: “Do you often play rugby?”
He asked if he often played rugby.
27. The doctor asked: “Do you ever feel this pain in your stomach before meals?”
The doctor asked me if I ever felt that pain in my stomach before meals.
28. Michael asked her: “Where did you find these trainers?
Michael asked her where she had found those trainers.
29. Michael wondered: “Why do I do this every day?”
Michael wondered why he did that every day.
30. “What time did the film start?” she asked.
She asked what time the film started.
31. Her parents asked her: “Why do you want to become a bullfighter?”
Her parents asked her why she wanted to become a bullfighter.
32. They asked her mother: “Does he often come home late from school?”
They asked her mother if she often came home late from school.
33. The judge asked Karl: “How long have you known the accused? “
The judge asked Karl how long he had known the accused.
More Reported Speech Examples with Questions
1. He asked: ”Where have you been Tom?”
He asked me where I had been.
2. The teacher wanted to know: ”Who discovered America?”
The teacher wanted to know who had discovered America.
3. The referee asked: ”How many players do you want to substitute?”
The referee asked how many players I/we/he wanted to substitute.
4. He asked: ”What would you do if you were a celebrity?”
He asked me what I would have done if I had been a celebrity.
5. She wondered: ” how much pay can I expect?”
She wondered how much pay she could expect.
6. The captain asked: ”When will we get to the coast, guide?”
The captain asked the guide when they would get to the coast.
7. The gardener inquired: ”Why didn’t you buy a new shovel?”
The gardener inquired why I hadn’t bought a new shovel.
8. They wanted to know: ”Who’s that woman?”
They wanted to know who that woman was.
9. The zookeeper asked: ”How much food did the lions eat last week?
The zookeeper asked how much food the lions had eaten the week before.
10. The rock star asked: ”Would you sing the song with me?”
The rock star asked me if I would sing the song with him.
11. He wanted to know: ”How long has peter had his sports car?”
He wanted to know how long Peter had had his sports car.
12. The coach asked: ”What is he doing now?”
The coach asked what he was doing.
13. The teacher asked: ” Who were they travelling with yesterday?”
The teacher asked who they had been travelling with the day before.
14. The helper asked: ”What time are you going to finish tomorrow?”
The helper asked what time we were going to finish the next day.
15. The people asked: ”Where would he go if he had the money.”
The people asked where he would have gone if he had had the money.
16. The hired works asked: ”When will we be paid?”
The hired workers asked when they would be paid.
17. The fireman asked: ”When is the fire engine going to be ready?”
The fireman asked when the fire engine was going to be ready.
18. The player wondered: ”How many goals will we score this week?”
The player wondered how many goals they would score that week.
19. Brother to sister: “Who are you going out with Jane?”
Jane’s brother asked her who she was going out with.
20. They wanted to know: ”Why weren’t we allowed to park here last month?”
They wanted to know why they hadn’t been allowed to park there the month before.