Reported Speech

Reported speech is a way of expressing what someone else has said, without directly quoting them. Instead of using quotation marks to enclose the exact words spoken by the other person, reported speech typically uses a verb of saying (such as “tell,” “say,” or “ask”) to introduce the quoted material. For example:

• She said, “I’m going to the store.” (direct speech)
• She said that she was going to the store. (reported speech)

In reported speech, the tense of the verb often changes to reflect the fact that the original words were spoken in the past. For example:

• He said, “I am hungry.” (direct speech)
• He said that he was hungry. (reported speech)

Reported speech can also be used to report on questions that someone else has asked. In this case, the verb of saying is typically followed by the word “if” or “whether” to introduce the quoted material:

• She asked, “Are you coming to the party?” (direct speech)
• She asked if I was coming to the party. (reported speech)
• He asked, “Do you have the time?” (direct speech)
• He asked whether I had the time. (reported speech)

― #genAI/chatgpt