Reported Speech

§     Definition

Reported Speech (also referred to as 'indirect speech') refers to a sentence reporting what someone has said. It is almost always used in spoken English.

§     Analysis

ü  If the reporting verb (i.e. said) is in the past, the reported clause is in a past form. This form is usually one step back into the past from the original.

ü  If simple present, present perfect or the future is used in the reporting verb (i.e. says) the tense is retained.

§     Examples

Tenses	Direct / Reported Speech
Simple present:	I said, “She is busy”. - I said she was busy.
Present continuous:	I said, “I am working now”. - I said I was working now
Simple past:	I said, “She was here this morning”. - I said she was here this morning. or I said she had been here this morning.
Past continuous:	I said “She was studying all yesterday” - I said she was studying all yesterday. or I said she had been studying all yesterday
Present perfect:	I said, “She has worked here for 5 years.” - I said she had worked here for 5 years.
Past perfect:	I said, “She had worked here for 5 years.” - I said she had worked here for 5 years.
Future:	I said, “She will work here from July.” - I said she would work here from July.
Future continuous:	I said, “We’ll be living here for 6 months.” - I said we would be living here for 6 months.
Can:	I said, “She can play the piano well.” - I said she could play the piano well.

Source :

1.       Buku Pintar Tenses by Anik M. Indriastuti, M.Hum

2.       Practical Complete – English Grammar by M. J. Lado (Titik Terang)

3.       Buku Hafalan Luar Kepala Bahasa Inggris SMP – Forum Tentor