Reported Speech
Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way to express what someone else has said without directly quoting their exact words. It is commonly used to relay information or recount events in a more natural and conversational manner.
To form reported speech, we usually change the tense of the original statement, and we replace the original speaker's pronouns with the appropriate third-person pronouns. Additionally, we may need to adjust time expressions and other contextual details.
For example, consider the following direct speech:
He said, "I am studying English."
When we convert it to reported speech, we get:
He said (that) he was studying English.
Here's a simple table to illustrate some of the main tense changes:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| Present Simple | Past Simple |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect |
| Past Simple | Past Perfect |
Remember that the reported speech should convey the meaning of the original statement accurately, even if some of the words or tenses are changed. Practice with various examples to get a better understanding of how to form and use reported speech correctly.
Here are four more examples of reported speech:
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Direct speech: She says, "We are going to the cinema tonight." Reported speech: She says (that) they are going to the cinema tonight.
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Direct speech: They told us, "We have finished our project." Reported speech: They told us (that) they had finished their project.
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Direct speech: He said to her, "I will call you later." Reported speech: He told her (that) he would call her later.
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Direct speech: She said, "They were waiting for the bus." Reported speech: She said (that) they had been waiting for the bus.
Correct Answers
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I'm very busy," she told him.
Answers:
The correct answer is "She told him that she was very busy." In reported speech, we use "told" when addressing someone directly (like "him") and the present continuous tense changes to the past continuous tense.
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I have to go out," she told them.
Answers:
The correct answer is "She told them she had to go out." In reported speech, we use "told" when addressing someone directly (like "them") and the present tense "have to" changes to the past tense "had to."
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I'm learning Spanish," he said.
Answers:
The correct answer is "He said he was learning Spanish." In reported speech, we use "said" after a pronoun (like "he") and the present continuous tense changes to the past continuous tense.
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I've never played soccer," he told her.
Answers:
The correct answer is "He told her he'd never played soccer." In reported speech, we use "told" when addressing someone directly (like "her") and the present perfect tense "have" changes to the past perfect tense "had."
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "We can't go to the party," they said.
Answers:
The correct answer is "They said they couldn't go to the party." In reported speech, we use "said" after a pronoun (like "they") and the modal verb "can" changes to "couldn't."
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "We don't have a key," they told us.
Answers:
The correct answer is "They told us they didn't have a key." In reported speech, we use "told" when addressing someone directly (like "us") and the present simple tense "don't have" changes to the past simple tense "didn't have."
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "We'll be home late," they said.
Answers:
The correct answer is "They said they would be home late." In reported speech, we use "said" after a pronoun (like ""they") and the future tense "will" changes to "would."
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I'm enjoying my new job," he said.
Answers:
The correct answer is "He said that he was enjoying his new job." In reported speech, we use "said" after a pronoun (like "he") and the present continuous tense changes to the past continuous tense.
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I don't feel very well," she told her friend.
Answers:
The correct answer is "She told her friend she didn't feel very well." In reported speech, we use "told" when addressing someone directly (like "her friend") and the present simple tense changes to the past simple tense.
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I'm going to buy a guitar," she said.
Answers:
The correct answer is "She said she was going to buy a guitar." In reported speech, we use "said" after a pronoun (like "she") and the present continuous tense "am going to" changes to the past continuous tense "was going to."
Verb
If grammar feels overwhelming, the fix is almost always to focus on verbs first. They carry the action, the time, the mood, and the voice — a single verb form decides whether your sentence reads as past or present, fact or hypothetical, active or passive. Get verbs solid and the rest of grammar suddenly looks much smaller.
A verb expresses action, state, or occurrence — the engine of every English sentence. Most verbs have five forms (base, -s, past tense, past participle, -ing); be has eight; modal verbs have fewer. Verbs carry tense, aspect, mood, and voice.
Present tense
If you've ever told someone I am living here for ten years (should be have lived or have been living) — you've hit the present perfect's main puzzle. English insists that "started in the past, still true now" lives in the present perfect, not the simple present. Internalise that one rule and a whole class of common errors disappears.
The present tense in English has four forms: simple present (I work) for habits and general truths; present progressive (I am working) for now or temporary; present perfect (I have worked) for past with present relevance; present perfect progressive (I have been working) for ongoing duration up to now.
Past tense
If you've ever told a story in English and felt the timeline get tangled — I came home, the dog ate, the cat slept — you've hit the limits of using simple past for everything. The past tense system has four forms specifically because real stories have layered timing: things that happened before other things, actions caught in progress, sequences of completed events.
The past tense has four English forms: simple past (I walked), past progressive (I was walking), past perfect (I had walked — earlier than another past event), past perfect progressive (I had been walking — ongoing up to a past point). Plus irregular verbs for the simple-past form.
Future tense
If you've ever wondered why a native speaker said I'm meeting her tomorrow instead of I will meet her tomorrow — you've felt the future-tense puzzle. English has at least four common ways to talk about the future, and they're not interchangeable. Pick the wrong one and you sound either unnaturally formal or surprisingly vague about your own plans.
English uses several constructions for future time: will + infinitive (predictions, spontaneous decisions: I'll call), be going to (planned intentions, evidence-based predictions: It's going to rain), the present continuous for arrangements (I'm meeting Sam at six), and the present simple for fixed schedules (The train leaves at 8).
Simple tense
If you're at A1/A2 and the array of English tenses feels overwhelming, here's the good news: most of what you need to say at the start fits in the simple forms. I work, I worked, I will work — three forms cover habits, completed past actions, and basic future. Master these first; the progressive and perfect come more easily once the simple is solid.
The simple aspect is the unmarked verb form — no progressive -ing, no have + past participle. I go, I went, I will go. Marks single completed actions, habits, or permanent states.
Progressive tense
If you've ever paused over I work in London vs I'm working in London and not been sure which to pick — you've hit the simple/progressive distinction. The first means it's your usual job; the second means it's temporary, going on right now. Native speakers reach for this distinction constantly without thinking; learners have to make it deliberate.
The progressive aspect marks ongoing action at a time of reference, formed with be + -ing: I am working, She was reading, They will be travelling. Marks temporary or in-progress events. Stative verbs (know, believe, own) don't normally take it.
Perfect tense
If you've ever written I am living here for ten years (should be have lived or have been living) — you've hit the perfect tense's main puzzle. English insists that "started in the past, still true now" lives in the present perfect, not the simple present. Get this clear and a whole class of common errors disappears.
The perfect aspect marks completion relative to a point in time, formed with have + past participle: I have eaten (present perfect), She had finished (past perfect), They will have arrived (future perfect). Combinable with progressive aspect (I have been working).
Indirect speech
If you've ever tried to retell what someone said and ended up with a verb-tense mess (She said she will come — wait, would come?), you've hit indirect speech. The rules look intricate but reduce to one move: when the reporting verb is past, shift everything in the reported clause one step into the past. Master that and reporting other people's words stops being a guessing game.
Indirect speech reports what someone said without quoting them: "I like apples" → He said that he liked apples. The core mechanism is backshift — tenses retreat one step into the past — plus pronoun and time-expression shifts.
English Grammar Basics
If grammar feels like a tangle of rules you can never quite remember, the fix isn't more advanced material — it's making the foundations automatic. The English Grammar Basics tag is where you do that: the building blocks every other topic stands on. Get these right and the rest stops feeling random.
It marks quizzes and explainers covering the core of English: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, tenses, voice, mood, and basic sentence structure. Useful whether you're a beginner or refreshing rusty knowledge.
A1 | Elementary | Beginners
If you can say your name, ask Where is the toilet?, and read a simple bus sign — but freeze when someone speaks at normal speed — you're at A1. That's not a problem to fix; it's the level where most learners actually live for a while, and recognising it lets you pick the right material instead of drowning in advanced grammar that wasn't meant for you yet.
A1 is the starting level of the CEFR framework, covering basic everyday communication: greetings, introductions, simple personal questions, present-tense forms of be/have/do, and core determiners and prepositions.
Difficulty: Easy
If a textbook leaves you confused, sometimes the issue isn't the topic — it's that the practice material is layered with extra complications. Filtering by Easy strips that away. You get one rule at a time, in plain everyday language, with no trick questions. It's how you make a shaky foundation solid before stacking more on top.
The Easy difficulty tag marks beginner-level questions and challenges — typically A1 or early A2. Single-rule focus, short sentences, common vocabulary, one clear correct answer.