1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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 said
He said that he could come the next day

5. Direct Speech Indirect Speech
Here
Now
This /that
Today
This morning
There
Then
These/those
That day
That morning
Ago
Yesterday
Last week
Before
The day before /the previous day
The week before/ the previous week
Next week
Next month
The following week /The week after
The following month/ the month
after
TIME EXPRESIONS

6. QUESTIONS
Use the same word order as in statements
Change the tenses as in statements
There 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.

7. 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?.

8. 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

9. Verb+gerund Verb+object
preposition+
gerund
verb
+preposition+
gerund
deny
recommend
suggest
accuse
blame
congratulate
apologize
insist
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.

10. verb +object
+infinitive
Verb+infinitive verb (that)
advise
encourage
invite
remind
warn
agree
decide
offer
promise
refuse
threaten
admit
agree
decide
deny
explain
insist
promise
recommend
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.

11. HOPES INTENTIONS
ANDPROMISES
ORDERS OR COMMANDS,
REQUESTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Promise, hope, propose
threaten, guarantee
swear.
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

12. 1. Verbs followed by 'if' or 'whether' + clause:
ask
know
remember
say
see
SUMMARY OF REPORTING VERBS

13. 2. Verbs followed by a that-clause:
add
admit
agree
announce
answer
argue
boast
claim
comment
complain
confirm
consider
deny
doubt
estimate
explain
fear
feel
insist
mention
observe
persuade
propose
remark
remember
repeat
reply
report
reveal
say
state
suggest
suppose
tell
think
understand
warn

14. 3. Verbs followed by either a that-clause or a to-
infinitive:
decide
expect
guarantee
hope
promise
swear
threaten
4. Verbs followed by a that-clause containing should
(but note that it may be omitted, leaving a subject +
zero-infinitive):
advise
beg
demand
insist
prefer
propose
recommend
request
suggest

15. 5. Verbs followed by a clause starting with a question
word:
decide
describe
discover
discuss
explain
forget
guess
imagine
know
learn
realise
remember
reveal
say
see
suggest
teach
tell
think
understand
wonder
6. Verbs followed by object + to-infinitive
advise
ask
beg
command
forbid
instruct
invite
teach
tell
warn