Reported speech: statements

When you tell someone what another person said, you usually don't repeat their exact words. Instead of "I'm tired," she said, you'd naturally say she said (that) she was tired. This is reported speech (also called indirect speech) — and the good news is that it follows one main rule you can apply again and again.

The quick version: if the reporting verb (said, told) is in the past, the verb in the reported statement usually moves one step back in time too: present simple → past simple (work → worked, do/does → did), will → would. Pronouns and time words also shift to match the new speaker and moment.

Direct speech vs reported speech

Direct speech repeats the exact words, usually in quotation marks:

• Maria said, "I live in Madrid."
• "We will call you tomorrow," they said.

Reported speech tells us the same information without the quotation marks, fitted into the reporting sentence:

• Maria said (that) she lived in Madrid.
• They said (that) they would call us the next day.

Notice three things changed: the quotation marks disappeared, the verb moved one step into the past (live → lived, will call → would call), and the pronoun and time word adjusted to fit the new perspective (you → us, tomorrow → the next day). The word that is optional after said and after told + person — both she said she was tired and she said that she was tired are correct, and the same goes for she told me (that) she was tired.

The backshift rule

When the reporting verb is in the past (said, told), the verb in the original statement typically shifts back one tense. This is called backshift:

If the information reported is still true or still relevant, backshift is often optional: "I live in Madrid," she said, reported soon afterwards to someone else, could become either She said she lived in Madrid or She said she lives in Madrid — both are natural.

A few modals don't change: would, could, might, and should already refer to something hypothetical or distant, so they stay the same in reported speech: "I would help if I could," she said → She said she would help if she could. Must also stays must when it expresses a logical deduction rather than obligation: "He must be tired," she said → She said he must be tired.

Pronouns and possessives shift too

Because the reporting sentence is told from a different point of view, pronouns and possessives usually change to match who is speaking and who is being talked about:

• "I love my job," he said. → He said he loved his job.
• "We'll bring our tickets," they said. → They said they'd bring their tickets.

There's no single fixed rule here — it always depends on who is reporting to whom, so it's worth reading each sentence carefully rather than memorizing a formula.

Time and place expressions shift too

Words that point to "now" or "here" often need to change, because reported speech is usually said at a different time or place than the original:

"I'll finish it tomorrow," she said → She said she'd finish it the next day. These changes aren't automatic in every case — if you're reporting something on the very same day it was said, today can stay today. The right choice depends on when and where you're actually speaking.

When backshift isn't needed

Backshift is about matching the reporting verb's tense, not a rule that applies blindly every time:

• The reporting verb is present or future, not past: "I'm tired," she says → She says she is tired. (no backshift — says is already present)
• The statement is a general fact or a timeless truth: "The sun rises in the east," he said → He said the sun rises in the east. (general truths usually stay in the present, since backshifting them can sound like the fact is no longer true)
• The statement is still true or relevant right now — here backshift is optional rather than wrong either way, as the Madrid example above shows.

Say vs tell

Both say and tell report statements, but they're used differently:

• Say is not directly followed by the listener: ✅ She said she was busy, not ❌ she said me she was busy.
• When tell reports what someone said, it needs the listener right after it: ✅ She told me she was busy, not ❌ she told she was busy (missing the listener).

If you want to name the listener after say, add to: She said to me that she was busy.

Common mistakes

• ❌ She said she is tired (with no backshift, as a fixed rule) → ✅ She said she was tired is the usual choice, backshifting the present simple after a past reporting verb — though she said she is tired is also fine if she's still tired right now.
• ❌ He told that he was leaving. → ✅ He said that he was leaving. / He told me he was leaving. (tell needs the listener right after it here; say doesn't)
• ❌ She said me she would come. → ✅ She told me she would come. / She said to me she would come.
• In a later report, when tomorrow has already passed: ✅ They said they would call the next day. (backshift will → would, and adjust the time word) — though if tomorrow is still tomorrow, ✅ They said they will call tomorrow works too.
• ❌ He said he has finished. → ✅ He said he had finished. (present perfect backshifts to past perfect)

Quick check

Try turning each direct-speech sentence into reported speech.

1. "I live in Berlin," she said.
2. "We'll arrive tomorrow," they said.
3. "I can speak French," he said.
4. "I've lost my keys," she told me.

Key takeaways

• Reported speech tells us what someone said without quoting their exact words; that after said and told + person is optional.
• If the reporting verb is past, the original verb usually backshifts one tense: am/is/are → was/were, present simple → past simple, present perfect → past perfect, will → would, can → could, may → might, must (obligation) → had to.
• Would, could, might, and should don't change — they stay the same. Must also stays must when it expresses deduction rather than obligation.
• Pronouns, possessives, and time/place words (today → that day, here → there) shift to match the new speaker, listener, time, and place.
• Backshift isn't needed when the reporting verb is present/future, when the statement is a general fact, or (optionally) when it's still true right now.
• Say isn't directly followed by the listener (said to me, not said me); when tell reports what someone said, it needs the listener right after it (told me, not just told).