Simple present Simple past

"I always drink coffee", she said

  She said that she always drank coffee.

Present continuous Past continuous

"I am reading a book", he explained.

 He explained that he was reading a book

Simple past Past perfect

“I broke the glass", he admitted

 He admitted (that) he had broken the glass.

Present perfect Past perfect

"I have been to Spain", he told me.

 He told me that he had been to Spain

REPORTED STATEMENTS

Past perfect Past perfect

"I had just turned out the light," he explained.

 He explained that he had just turned out the light.

Present perfect continuous

Past perfect continuous

They complained, "We have been waiting for hours".

 They complained that they had been waiting for hours.

Past continuous Past perfect continuous

"We were living in Paris", they told me.  

They told me that they had been living in Paris.

Future Present conditional

"I will always love you", he promised

 He promised that he would always love her.

Future continuous Conditional continuous

She said, "I'll be using the car next Friday".  

She said that she would be using the car next Friday.

Can Could

“We can solve the problem", they insisted  

They insisted (that) they could solve the problem.

May Might

"I may be late” He warned us.

 He warned us (that) he might be late.

Must Had to

“We must leave now" he explained.

 He explained that he had to leave then .

We don’t need to change the verb form :

•if the reporting verb is in the present, or if the original statement was about something that is still true, e.g.“ The currency in Argentina is the peso”The teacher tols us that the currency in Argentina is the peso

When the sentences we are reporting contains the modals: Would, could, might, ought to, should or must when it used for deduction:I could come tomorrow” she saidHe said that he could come the next day

Direct Speech

Indirect Speech

HereNowThis /thatTodayThis morning

ThereThenThese/thoseThat dayThat morning

AgoYesterdayLast week

BeforeThe day before /the previous dayThe week before/ the previous week

Next weekNext month

The following week /The week afterThe following month/ the month after

TIME EXPRESIONS

QUESTIONS

Use the same word order as in statementsChange the tenses as in statementsThere is no questions mark unless the introductory phrase is a question:

Use the Wh-word in Wh-questions 

Present Past

When does the film start? 

He asked me When the film started.He wanted to know when the film started

Use if / whether for Yes/ no questions

Present perfect  Past perfect

Have you done your homework or not?

The teacher asked if /whether we had done our homework or not.

Must use whether (not if) when we are asking someone to make a choice:

Present Past

“Do you want tea or coffee?” He asked me whether I wanted tea or coffee.

May use polite introductory phrases like: I wonder if you, could you tell me…Don’t change the tense

Present

“What’s the time?” I wonder if you could tell me What the time is?.

REQUESTS AND ORDERS

We often use verbs like: ask, tell+object+to-infinitive:

We don’t chance tenses

“Will you be quiet, please?”

The teacher asked me to be quiet.The teacher told me to be quiet.

We use not before the to-infinitive to report negative requests or orders:

“Please don’t interrupt the meeting"

The manager asked /told me not to interrupt the meeting

Verb+gerund Verb+object preposition+

gerund

verb +preposition+

gerund

denyrecommend

suggest

accuseblame

congratulate

apologizeinsist

Examples: He denied having

anything to do with her.

Ken suggested studying early in the

morning.

Examples: They accused the boys of

cheating on the exam.

She blamed her husband for missing

the train.

Examples: He apologized for being

late.

She insisted on doing the washing

up.

verb +object +infinitive

Verb+infinitive verb (that)

adviseencourage

inviteremindwarn

agreedecideoffer

promiserefuse

threaten

admitagreedecidedeny

explaininsist

promiserecommend

suggest

Examples: Jack encouraged me to look for a new job.

They invited all their friends to attend the

presentation.

Examples: She offered to give him a

lift to work.

My brother refused to take no for an

answer.

Examples: Tom admitted (that) he had tried to leave

early.

She agreed (that) we needed to reconsider

our plans.

HOPES INTENTIONS ANDPROMISES

ORDERS OR COMMANDS, REQUESTS AND SUGGESTIONS

Promise, hope, proposethreaten, guaranteeswear.

Tell, command, order, warn, ask, advise, invite, beg, teach, forbid, remind, urge, warn

Ask, advise, beg, encourage, invite, persuade, recommend, request , remind

SUGGESTIONS STATEMENTS

insist, recommend, demand, request, propose.

add, admit, agree, announce, answer, claim, complain, declare, explain, insist, imply, mention, point out, promise, recognise, state,

QUESTIONS

want to know, wonder , ask

1. Verbs followed by 'if' or 'whether' + clause:askknowremember

saysee

SUMMARY OF REPORTING VERBS

2. Verbs followed by a that-clause:addadmitagreeannounceanswerargueboastclaimcommentcomplainconfirmconsiderdeny

doubtestimateexplainfearfeelinsistmentionobservepersuadeproposeremarkrememberrepeat

replyreportrevealsaystatesuggestsupposetellthinkunderstandwarn

3. Verbs followed by either a that-clause or a to-infinitive:decideexpectguaranteehope

promiseswearthreaten

4. Verbs followed by a that-clause containing should (but note that it may be omitted, leaving a subject + zero-infinitive):

advisebegdemand

insistpreferpropose

recommendrequestsuggest

5. Verbs followed by a clause starting with a question word:

decidedescribediscoverdiscussexplainforgetguess

imagineknowlearnrealiserememberrevealsay

seesuggest teachtellthinkunderstandwonder

6. Verbs followed by object + to-infinitive

adviseaskbegcommand

forbidinstructinvite

teachtellwarn