The Question
The reported-speech question says "Report the following conversation" and carries 5 marks. There is no choice against it. The paper prints a short dialogue, usually four lines between two named speakers, and you rewrite it as a single paragraph of reported speech.
Direct speech gives the speaker's exact words inside quotation marks. Reported speech (indirect speech) tells what was said, without the quotation marks, and adjusts the tense, the pronouns and the words of time and place.
Direct: Borges said, "My mother was an extraordinary person." Reported: Borges said that his mother had been an extraordinary person.
What the examiner looks for
- every line of the dialogue reported, in order;
- the right reporting verb for each line (asked, replied, said, told);
- correct tense backshift, pronouns and time words;
- the lines joined into a paragraph with small links such as then, further, in reply;
- no quotation marks anywhere.
[Exam Tip] — Five marks for four lines means roughly a mark a line with one for the linking. Report every line: skipping one loses a mark even if the rest is perfect.
The Three Changes
1. Tense goes one step back when the reporting verb is in the past (said, asked, replied).
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| simple present (is, knows) | simple past (was, knew) |
| present continuous (is going) | past continuous (was going) |
| present perfect (has gone) | past perfect (had gone) |
| simple past (went) | past perfect (had gone) |
| past continuous (was going) | past perfect continuous (had been going) |
| past perfect (had gone) | past perfect (unchanged) |
| will / shall | would |
| can | could |
| may | might |
| must | had to (or must, for a lasting rule) |
| should, would, could, might, ought to | unchanged |
No backshift in three cases: a universal truth (He said that honesty is the best policy), a habitual fact still true, and when the reporting verb is in the present (He says that he is busy).
2. Pronouns change to the reporter's point of view.
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| I, we | he, she, they |
| my, our | his, her, their |
| me, us | him, her, them |
| you (the listener) | the listener's name, or him / her / them |
Borges said, "My duty is to accept it." → Borges said that his duty was to accept it.
3. Words of time and place move away from the moment of speaking.
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| now | then |
| today | that day |
| tonight | that night |
| tomorrow | the next day |
| yesterday | the previous day |
| last night | the previous night |
| next week | the following week |
| ago | before |
| here | there |
| this / these | that / those |
| thus | so |
Reporting Each Kind of Sentence
A statement takes said / told + that.
"My mother was an extraordinary person." → Borges said that his mother had been an extraordinary person.
Said has no object; told must have one. He said to me becomes He told me.
A yes-or-no question takes asked / enquired + if or whether, and the word order becomes that of a statement. The question mark disappears.
"Can we talk about your mother?" → Alifano asked whether they could talk about his mother.
A wh-question keeps its question word and then follows statement order.
"What is blindness to you?" → Alifano asked what blindness was to him. Not asked what was blindness: after the wh-word, the subject comes before the verb.
A command or request takes ordered, told, asked, requested, advised + to + base verb. A negative command takes not to.
"Go first." → Marcus told Roof to go first. "Don't look at the other box." → Roof told them not to look at the other box.
A suggestion with "let's" takes suggested + that … should, or proposed.
"Let's begin." → He suggested that they should begin.
An exclamation or a wish takes exclaimed with joy / sorrow / surprise + that, or wished.
"What a wonderful rally!" → She exclaimed with joy that it was a wonderful rally. "Congrats!" → The villager congratulated Marcus.
Words dropped in reporting: yes, no, well, oh, please, sir. Report their sense instead: Yes, I will becomes he replied that he would; Please help me becomes she requested him to help her.
The 2025 Question, Solved
Alifano : Can we talk about Dona Leonor, your mother? Borges : My mother was an extraordinary person Alifano : What is Blindness to you? Borges : Well, now it is a way of life. My duty is to accept it.
A model answer
Alifano asked Borges whether they could talk about Dona Leonor, his mother. Borges replied that his mother had been an extraordinary person. Alifano then asked him what blindness was to him. Borges said that then it was a way of life and that his duty was to accept it.
Line by line
| Direct | Reported | Changes made |
|---|---|---|
| Can we talk about Dona Leonor, your mother? | asked whether they could talk about Dona Leonor, his mother | yes-or-no question → whether; can → could; we → they; your → his; question mark dropped |
| My mother was an extraordinary person | replied that his mother had been an extraordinary person | statement → that; was → had been; my → his |
| What is Blindness to you? | asked him what blindness was to him | wh-question keeps what, then statement order; is → was; you → him |
| Well, now it is a way of life. My duty is to accept it. | said that then it was a way of life and that his duty was to accept it | well dropped; now → then; is → was; my → his; two sentences joined by and that |
How the paragraph is held together: the reporting verbs are varied (asked, replied, asked, said) and one link, then, marks the move to the second question. That is enough; a chain of said … said … said reads badly and can cost the linking mark.
Method and Common Mistakes
A method for the five marks
- Note who speaks first and who answers. Use their names the first time, then pronouns.
- Decide the kind of each line: statement, yes-or-no question, wh-question, command, exclamation.
- Choose the reporting verb for each: asked for questions, replied for answers, said / told for statements, requested / ordered for commands.
- Make the three changes: tense back one step, pronouns to the third person, time and place words away from the moment.
- Join the lines into one paragraph with then, further, in reply, to this.
- Read it through: no quotation marks, no question marks, no yes / well / please.
Common mistakes
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| Alifano asked that could they talk… | Alifano asked whether they could talk… |
| Alifano asked what was blindness to him. | Alifano asked what blindness was to him. |
| Borges said that his mother was an extraordinary person. | Borges said that his mother had been an extraordinary person. |
| Borges said that now it was a way of life. | Borges said that then it was a way of life. |
| Borges replied, that his duty was to accept it. | No comma and no quotation marks after replied that. |
| He said me that… | He told me that… / He said that… |
| Marcus told Roof that go first. | Marcus told Roof to go first. |
| Roof said yes he would vote for Maduka. | Roof agreed / replied that he would vote for Maduka. |
| Four lines reported as two | Report every line, in order. |
[Exam Tip] — The two errors that cost the most marks are keeping the question word order (asked what was blindness) and forgetting the tense step (was instead of had been). Check those two before you finish.