🔼Reported Speech🔽

The Reported Speech or the so-called "indirect style" is a structure used when we want to mention something that someone has previously said.

Function: "We use reported speech to repeat what someone said without using their exact words."

➽ But before we start with the examples and give more clarity to the matter, there are some words we must learn before using the indirect style, since these are used when we want to use the indirect style.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Now	Then, at that momento
Today / Tonight	That day / That night
This morning	That Morning
Yesterday	The day before, the previous day
Tomorrow	The following day, the next day
Last month	The month before, the previous month
Last week	The week before
Here	There
Ago	Before

➽ Well, now we are going to see how it is done, because there is an important part when passing from the direct to the indirect style, and that is the verb tense. Depending on which verb tense we choose, the indirect style must carry one or the other.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present simple: “I eat hamburgers every day.”	Past simple: He said (that) he ate hamburgers every day.
Present continuous: “I am reading a book.”	Past Continuous: He said (that) he was reading a book.
Past simple: “I bought a new laptop.”	Past perfect: He said (that) he had bought a new laptop.
Past continuous: “I was playing tennis at 11 o´clock”.	Past Perfect Continuous: He said (that) he had been playing tennis at 11 o´clock.
Present Perfect: “I have finished my homework.”	Past Perfect: He said (that) he had finished his homework.
Past Perfect: “I had studied English for years.”	Past Perfect: He said (that) he had studied English for years.
Future (Will): “I will go and buy some food.”	Conditional (Would): He said (that) he would go and buy some food.
Future (Going to): “I am going to travel a lot.”	Was / were going to: He said (that) he was going totravel a lot.
Modal verbs: “I can play the piano very well.” “I must go home.”	He said (that) he could play the piano very well. He said (that) he had to go home.

➽ We already know the changes that occur in verb forms (and modal verbs) when using one or another form. Then we see that the structure also changes a little when referring to time, place and questions. And thanks to the words that I said that you had to memorize before, making this kind of indirect style will be easier.

• Let's see it better with some examples:

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
“They live here”. He said.	He said (that) they lived there.
Alberto: “I don´t want to go now.”	Alberto said (that) he didn´t want to go then.
Jaime: “I started to work today.”	Jaime said (that) he had started to work that day.
Maria: “I wanted to go out yesterday.”	Maria said (that) she had wanted to go out last night.
Felicity: “I´m going to go to Spain next week.”	Felicity said (that) she was going to Spain the following week.

🔼Reported Question🔽

It is a structure that we use when we report or mention something that someone has previously asked. By reporting what people say, we usually change the time of the verbs to indicate that we are reporting - not giving the direct speech

Function: "We use reported questions to report what someone asked without using exacly the same words."

➽ Form & meaning

These general rules for reported speech also apply.

1. When we report questions, the subject comes before the verb.
• Direct speech: “Where are you going?”
  Reported speech: He asked me where I was going.
• Direct speech: “Why is he shouting?”
  Reported speech: He asked me why he was shouting.
• Direct speech: “What do you want?”
  Reported speech: She asked me what I wanted.
2. When reporting questions we don’t use the auxiliary verb do, except in negative questions.
   • Direct speech: “Who doesn’t like cheese?”
     Reported speech: She asked me who didn’t like cheese.
3. We report yes/no questions with if or whether.
   

   • Direct speech: “Do you want me to come?”
     Reported speech: I asked him if he wanted me to come.
   • Direct speech: “Have you fed the dog?”
     Reported speech: She asked me whether I had fed the dog

   

   
   

   
   

   ➽ Here are some more examples:

   Direct Question	Reported Question
   Where is the Post Office, please?	She asked me where the Post Office was.
   What are you doing?	She asked me what I was doing.
   Who was that fantastic man?	She asked me who that fantastic man had been.

   
   

   
   So much for 'wh' questions. But, what if you need to report a 'yes / no' question? We don't have any question words to help us. Instead, we use 'if':

   ·         Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?

   ·         Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.
4. ➽ No problem? Here are a few more examples:
   
   

   Direct Question	Reported Question
   Do you love me?	He asked me if I loved him.
   Have you ever been to Mexico?	She asked me if I had ever been to Mexico.
   Are you living here?	She asked me if I was living here.