Grammar: Reported Speech / Indirect Speech

I don’t believe God created you to become a teacher. you should change your career immediately without thinking,

basem3090

I don’t believe God created him at all.

engVid

I belive God created him to be a teacher. He is one of the best EngVid teachers.

mokus

the god is existed in our world and he rules everything , nothing happens without his order and he creates all of us whether you agree or not

Salma1995

I respect what you said ( Salma 1995) about god is exist in our world.
I live in USA and the freedom of religion for every one and society that respects and is open to all beliefs and religions. From childhood, I was indoctrinated that religion is between oneself and God and our home country is for all citizens without discrimination based on religion, color, or nationality. In addition, no one should be compelled to follow any religious doctrine or sect, including those who do not follow my way of life. Self respect is of the greatest values the human could live upon.

basem3090

but my respond was not for you , it was for engVid

Salma1995

What do you want to say ?? What do you mean by living in USA ?what do you mean by all those big words that you have written such as , Racism,Nationality, Citizens,Freedom of religion,Society and your childhood with human . We are in here to improve our English we are not talking in the United Nations please take it easy MR. Basement 3090 , We must thank all teachers for their good efforts .

preemy

LOL! Sorry,mr. Moderator, but I couldn’t help
laughing. That’s the famous English sense
of humour.

Sonia1234

What’s the value added of your comment? If you don’t like it here, no-one forces you to watch the videos. :)

David

I’m so sorry (Salmma 1995) please accept my apologies.
انا احب اهل تونس الخضراء

basem3090

@arian

Firstly, I`m not sure that God exist. Secondly, Ben is a really good teacher. And finally, what`s your problem, man? If U don`t like him, just do not watch his lessons!

HalfBloodPrincess

So so good

Megang

Thank you so much . Your lesson is useful for me. My skye is ukrit_2011

Thank you everyone.

Ukrit

Great explanation! Thanks.

Anisaulkhoiriyah

Good explanation… %89… :)

lanietoc

I got 7 correct out of 9. I sometimes write like…
ex. She said to me that she got a stomachache and would like to be absent from school. Is it OK?

Or should I write like ‘She told me that she got a stomachache and would like to be absent from school’?

Thank you, Benjamin :)

Happy04

Excuse me, I will try to answer: the second sentence is correct.
I remember simple rule: tell–somebody and say–something

emo53

Thank you, emo53 :)

Happy04

to tell + someone +something
to say + something + to someone
a) she told me a bad news
b)he said something funny to me

see you soon, Mr Emo 56

Briklend Handersson

Hello,

To start with, both forms (said to me that/told me that) are correct. Check out e.g. this page :
http://engengenglish.blogspot.sk/2009/11/say-vs-tell.html

However, I see a mistake in both of your sentences.

If her original words were:
“I HAVE GOT a stomach ache and I would like to be absent from school.”
Then, we need to shift the sentence into Reported Speech as follows:
She said that HAD a stomach ache and would like to be absent from school. (we never shift “would”; have got/have(to)/must -> all shift to “HAD (to)”)

If the Reported Speech were “…she got a stomach ache…,” then her original words should have been: “…I get a stomach ache…,” which is incorrect (Present Simple would be understood as a repeated/habitual action)

If her original words were: “I HAD a stomach ache (this morning) and I would like to …” Then, the sentence in Reported Speech would be as follows:
“She said (to me) that / She told me that she HAD HAD a stomach ache that morning and would like to…”

Hope this is a bit clear now :)

Cheers, David

David

it’s helpful!!Thank you David~

TOMLIN

Thank you, David :)

Happy04

No prob guys. I just see that I have a mistake in my previous reply. Sorry about that.

It should be “She said that SHE HAD a stomach ache and would like to be absent from school.”

David

thanks for website)))

hakim shakuri

7 out of 9 .

devendra111

Thanks Ben for this interesting lesson.

I don’t understand why is:Lili told me that she liked chocolate… the right answer(n°7) We don’t konw who is she talking to.

I thought it was the second to last.

byte

89% , Thanks Benjamin … You’re great ,hats off for you

marouane10

Everyone said thanked Engvid dude.

vreza

Thanks, got 89%.

Abdul Qayum

I got 7 out 9. Great lesson! شكرًا جزيلاً

yazidchess

Thanks Benjamin! I got 89%

Antonio Marcos

thax for clearin my doubts

palakshi nautiyal

9 out of 9. Thanks Benjamin!!!

lukaszw

thank Benjamin, your lesson is very great! I hope you will have many better lessons than this lesson.

demdemtroi

6 Out of 9, I need to improve my listening, But alright, practice makes perfect

Anderson nunes

Thanks a million!

VietNam1984

Thanks very much :D

iCzie

I got 8 out of 9. Thank you for this lesson !!

DamianJahn

Great and lively explanation! Thx

Dilian

Thanks……I got89%

ramayah25

Thanks Benjamin … amazing lesson :) .. I got it easily

aboood1994

It’s absolutely useful lesson ! Thank you Benjamin :)

gingerella

That was quite easy :) I don’t know why you have chosen “level 3-Advanced” :) ?

Marcin S.

here are the answers I got wrong (first) and the correct one (right below)

Lili told me that she likes chocolate ice cream.
Lili told me that she liked chocolate ice cream.

Will: “I enjoyed been a captain.”
Will: “I enjoy being a captain.”

What I didn’t get is: what if Lili was saying something I know is still currently true? And couldn’t Will be talking to me about a passed experience?
I mean: I got the point of the lesson, but is it true in all situations or it was me thinking too much and giving the correct answer to an option which was not included in this lesson?

ghespe

The answer with Will is wrong, because of the form “been”.

You have a good question, though. There is debate about this. Some people say that you shouldn’t have to shift the tense back if you know it is still true. And in practice, we often do not shift it back. But if you are being tested on your grammar, it is generally considered correct to shift the tense back, even if you know she still likes chocolate. Why? Because you are talking about what she **told** you (in the past), so technically she only **liked** it in the past also. Maybe now she doesn’t. You are reporting what was, not really what is now.

engVid

Damn, that’s right!! “been”… I heared people saying it many times and never thought about grammar. Good to know about the second question: always had problems, never got why… untill now!!

ghespe

I said to everyone who around me that engvid was excellent to learn English
Thanks for all your lessons

Manolya

7/8 I can do better ;) but thanks for the class… It’s clear to me now.

Luisfer

I got 9 out 9 :)
Thanks !

MohdAlshahrani

Thank Benjamin!

Tuan Phung

Great teacher

sharmaarke

Exelent lesson. I’ve got 100. But I have a question. Sometimes I notice that present tense is used in reported speech when in itroduction sentence there is the past. I think that is because the action is still going on but I’m not sure. Could you make a lesson on that too, please. Thank you.

danip

how can i see the lesson videos

Mahwish Imran

Our videos are on YouTube, which is blocked in Pakistan. You will need to use Tor or a proxy server.

engVid

HI Admin, I am not a new user here.so if you could kindly tell me that why my comment is wating…

Stranger444

your comment has appeared, sir :D

anope8

Excellent lesson!

Benjamin! Could you please make a lesson on “want SOMEONE to”, please?

My students think it is so hard and we would be so glad if you could help us.

giolima

thank you so much….
got 6/9 need to develop my listening skills :D

Harish Chunchu

Thank you dear Benjamin.

Sora.Baha

I have got 7 out of 9 . Please add me anyone skype (nizamjg12) for english conversation.

Nizamjg12

Don’t forget to leave a message. Thanks

gonn2013

I have got 9 out of 9. The 6- th question must be — Josh said that he was sick of running that website. We change this into that.

papyan

This could be the answer, but if the person we are talking to knows what we are talking about already (which website), then we can keep it as “this”.

engVid

good lesson Benjamin,
thank you so much
I had learned this lesson in school time but I was forgot it,
but thank you so much, Through your lesson I learned it again and revise it too

I am not sure whatever comment I write above, it’s sentence is correct or not

mahidavp

Hi mahidavp,

I am sorry to say but your comment has some grammatical mistakes. Nevertheless, it’s good to see you making an effort :)
keep it up (y)
regards
abhi

abhishek1995

Thanks a lot what a great lesson.

ashme

Thanks you so much.
Hello everybody, my skype is minhtuanxd. Anyone who wants to practice English, addes my nick to improve skill english together. Tks

m.tuanxd7@gmail.com

I really like study Grammar with native teacher

pmdphuong

I got 100%. This website was really marvellous. Thanks EngVid Team ^_^

MariaUtami

I like your accent,,,thanks for the lesson.

Rahaf

8/9 thank you Benjamin.

jameel5x

I was persuaded by Benji to do the quiz. And look to what happened. 8/9, disgusting, isn’t it, awful. Oh oh, today I’m feeling so, so cockney…

Jorge Pedroso

Thanks Benji! I got all of them correct although I was a bit sceptical about the last one.

abhishek1995

Thanks for a good lesson. It’s very clear and the exercise is interesting.

krunu

7 out of 9 :)

ftm38

Thanks for a good lesson. It’s very clear and the exercise is interesting.

caare448@gmail.com

Thanks goodness .. I got 8 out of 9 .. I like the way you explains the lesson

S7s7f

Thank you very much.
great lesson from great teacher.
I got 9 correct out of 9
My Skype is ahmad91abuawwad
i need a partner

ahmadabuawwad

this is the mine: lompoabdou please add me

lompoabdou

100% easy class though. keep it up dude

Leonardor

not easy dear ..all in English are new even renewed again and again…..thx to u….

rafi ghan

How can we report something like the following sentence.
He says I am a doctor.
when we report it is it correct to report it as
He says He is a doctor?

Achalaisi1991

He said that I am a doctor. Isn’t it?

wesleis

Hi There! Help me kind people))) My question is “Why people sometimes use “Do” before verbs?” example- I do play snooker.

ArtemRUS

Hello!
It’s used for emphasis. Example:”You don’t understand what I am saying!” “Yes I do, I do understand what you are saying.”

agafonoff

9 out of 9. Good lesson. Thank you Benjamin.

Angela M.

9 out of 9. Good explanation! Thank you Sensei Benjamin!

agafonoff

i got 7 of 9

from last question understated

d3jon

i got 7 out 9.Great explanation! Thanks.

Kumar2011

Cool!

MariaMeleshkova

It said “You got 9 correct out of 9.
:D” Thank you!

Vanchella

I got 8 out 9 , great class . Tks Benjamin for this video.

dellagliopilot

Awesome! Thank you so much ;)

eloa.fernandes

gr8 lesson

mshurafa

I got 8 of 9!
I always was frightened of this part of grammar but know I got it well.

Thanks a lot

saeid

Thank you, Benjamin! I got 9 out of 9. Precious lesson :)

Konstantyn Yefimov

There’s no ME in the Lilly’s sentence. Is it right?

wesleis

Thank you for this lesson.

surrealnut

Thank you so much you helped me to understand well

heydar Ali

Thanks to help me understand it

William Flores

great! thank you so much:)

mem1937

Great lesson, Thanks

Hosam.taha68

Oh my gosh! Who said that Benjamin wasn’t a good teacher!!? He is definitely a good teacher. I think he is an excellent teacher,first I had problem with his lessons because I had problem understanding British English. But now, I have no problem. And the subjects that he selects to teach are interesting and he does his job very well.

This lesson was very good. But I want to ask you make another one about this, please. This lesson needs “part two”. Because changing some other tenses in reported speech is not always easy.

Anahita

Hi Anahita. I agree with you.

Soei

Great! Thanks a lot!!

TOMLIN

An usefull lesson benjamin:)

gal arnon

i got it. no bounded 9/9

buluchtumer

The british accent sounds so good! :D

EvandroThor

Thanks a lot , very useful

dtmilad

Thanks a lot, i scored 9/9.

AANKO RAI

the explanation was good and understood every thing clearly but unfortunately I got 7 out of 9.
over all it was good :)

dhriti

Wow wow wow , very good lesson . i do like all your lessons

Fatima Qais

Thaaaaanks , I got 100 , it is really goooooood lesson

Fatima Qais

it was enjoyable lesson. i’m glad to get 9 correct of 9. thanks !

jakekudur

thats great.

kaanth

Well done Benjamin Thnks :)

Eddie4u

Great lesson, you all are terrific teachers :)

Melissa Corzo

You’re a great English teacher.

Sang

great lesson…thanks a lot…

Edu777

thank you

osama osama

Thanx Benjamin! I got 9 out of 9 :)

@guler

Good day everyone!

Maybe you’re looking some ways to improve your speaking skills. Interacting,chatting or even good conversations with others are very effective ways to meet that objective and through voice chat everyone can make that possible.
Here’s my skype: gonn53
You’re welcome!

gonn2013

One of my first favourite teachers here. Congrats Ben. I like your style very much

carlomaginus

i got 100

hakim shakuri

thank you for these great explanation. By the way… i don’t believe religion, only in the true God (refer to Selma)

patrickmuniz2016

9 of 9
thanks alot :)

rikooalmadridi

Thank you for a good and useful explanation of the rules of the theme ‘Reported speech’! I learned the rules before, but it is very good to revise them doing the test.

natalianew

I think it would be better – I have learned the rules before? Not – I learned the rules before.

natalianew

I’m trying to improve my English through this website. It help me a lot with grammar because I don’t have much time to study at school so I learn here when I’m free anytime, wherever I am. It’s really important part of my improving. Thank

Yihok Chea

OK I my opinion the correct phrase should be : Josh said that he was sick of running (that) website. Please someone recognised the mistake?? I think that in the reported speech this change to that .

hamd3044

weew!! just got lucky! 10/10

gonn2013

very useful…thx:)

usmansyahputra

I don’t really understand all this lesson, but I’ll try it later. My score was 66 or 69 ( I don’t remember xD ) But it was 6 out 9… D:

San88

10 on10 good lesson .wish me luck on my bac exam

sarah zahra

Nice, 8 of 9

Dmitry.Lomin

GREAT! 9 of 9 Good lesson Benjamin!!

Ivan1105

Hi Benjamin,first of all I’m greatful for your explanation which is clearly.furthermore,this lesson is very useful for any english student,

fatihaeng

Well done! I got 9 out of 9 :).
Thank you very much for your efforts teacher Benjamin..

Jannat-3

someone told me that engvid was a fantastic site so i have learned many useful topics in english also it gets better and better and prove how much amazing these teacher are :D

aboood1994

You are a very good teacher. Thanks to you, I got 9 right answers

uguraltuntas

jeeeeeeeez! You wouldn’t believe this, i can speak more fluent than ever

johnsoncharles

A good lesson, I have got a 89 percent.

m.ramiro

thank you for good lesson

sciloglu

I got 8 out of 9 thank u BENJAMIIN and you have a nice accent

mrini05

thanks teacher

chouaibrck

I really want to say because u have tought this lesson in a easy way. U r ma eye opener….

Mayuran kailash

89% , Thanks Benjamin

Aymen Dz

Engvid told me that I got 9 out of 9. That’s great!

Nikki Jwx

i need a partner to speak ….here my skype id sony.hasan5

delwar

Nice teacher, I like the way he speaks and explains. Very appropriate language in my opinion. He also reminds me of the actor from series “IT crew”. The same type of people. Well done, Benjamin! Thanks a lot!

UkrainianG

Great! The quiz said that I got 9 correct out of 9

oselfa

good quiz

babalibayram

a good lesson that gave me something else about reported speech . thank you very much Teacher Benjamin !

Anilov65

Thank you

Noraddeen

I GOT 9 out of 9, Thank u very much benjamin)))))

Alex Danilenko

I got 9 out of 9. Thank you very much

Briklend Handersson

thanking for teaching english grammer so i can save my valuable money,time

ishwor khakurel

Great! thanks you so much

baxtiar Haji

Isn’s this the correct sentences Josh said that he was sick of running that website.

evelkeen ali

Great!! Thank you verymuch I got 9.

Rayko

You did a great job Benjamin.I very like you lesson and I always enjoy it. Thank you for remind me about indirect speech and reported speech. (:

teerawat1985

Thanks very much. A great lesson. No Doubts. I enjoy it. God Bless you.

Nunesfn

I got 9 correct out of 9.
:D

Maria AJ

Very useful lesson. Thank you Benjamin!

Isaias Menezes Silva

I got 8 thanks a lot Benjamine

A.Elteira

Thank you Benjamin !

Franck88

Thanks for your lessons! They are really helpful!

cariel

Thanks for your Help!

Gilvan Costa

8/9

ann ann

Thanks, Benjamin! You’re the best!
But I have a question: Doesn’t test 6 have any mistakes? There’s ‘this’in sentence in reported speech :c

Lisaaa

thank you benjamin

mousa aziz

thanks Benjamin .. nice explanation. hope u should change the questions in quiz.

ch bhavana

Hi . Thanks a lot.

Soei

Thank you . Regards

khaled226677

9 out of 9. Excellent lesson! Thank you very much.

Vivimi

got fulllll

Christina Thomas

you are fantastic! you make me laugh a lot

agne.stellina

Benjamin, a question for you…..i have this example: ‘Open the door,’ he said. Is the comma inside the quotes like in the example or after like: ‘Open the door’,he said.

burcuta

I got 9/9. thanks a lot for the difference between said and told.

idir amine

I get 9 out 9 , hohow thank you soooo much

Salman Yahiaoui

thank you very much. Your lesson has been a good review

cristianpodda

Thank you! I got 9 out of 9. But shuildn’t “tonight” changs to “that night”? thank you in advance.

olgasmr

thank you,great way to explain this lesson

Reyane

thank you so much for this lesson ^_^. I’ve got 9 out of 9.

Siti Aminah Hadiyanti

You got 8 correct out of 9.
:) >>>> Thanks you your for helping :D

Nawapol

100% :D

Lirie1

Hi Mr. Benjamin, thank you very much. I’ve got 7 correct out of 9.

bellatimor

Thanks Benjamin. Good lesson. I forgot information about this topic, but with your help i recalled it.

TimurMakhmutov

9 correct out of 9! Thank You for this lesson!

daffitz

i got 8 correct out of 9. it seems for me that i moving forward quite.. thanks Benjamin

feisal92

I got 7 out of 9
I’ll improve
thanks for this lesson

lindarubi97

Thankyou! I understand quiet well now, I just have two more questions;
1. “Billy answered with the correct answer.” Was an example in the video, but I don’t see why this is reported speech? Cause ow do you make this direct speech?
2. Another example: “Billy reported to me that you had been naughty.” When do you add “to”? Only with this specific verb or cold you add it to every indirected speech?

Thanks!

Eva0104

verry good lesson, i got 8/9.???

ravindra singh

I have problem in this sentence.
Lili said “I like chocolate ice cream”.

Lili said that she liked chocolate ice cream.
How is this wrong? please help :-)

TabishJaved

thank you for thie lesson!

CART

I’m enjoying this site. Scored 9 out of 9?

Rajat2395

9/9 thanx Benjamin
but Q7 I think the answer should be
Lili said that she liked chocolate ice cream.

Am i right ?

Khairi Grera

I’ m happy because I got 8/9, good lesson. My friend told me that I’m a good student and I said, ‘My teacher is a better teacher.’

Adilson Veber Moreira

Thanks Benjamin…. An excellent lesson to me..

AlexisSegovia

Thanks Benjamin,you guy did a good job

sophiacl

Thanks, Mr. Benjamim. I got 9 of 9! I’m very happy. With Teacher Benjamin, reported speech is much easier.

Gabriel99

Wouldn’t you use double quotes and not single quotes? Please explain

Bruh

Ops. I got 8 correct out of 9. but surely this lesson gave me some useful information

mansooransari77

thank u alot..

sirene younis

woow,I got 9 out of 9,thank you Benjamin for the lesson:)

b.mooh

I got 5 out 9, thanks for this lesson that was very useful for me =)

skom

The teacher said, “Gandhi ji was born in India.”

please tell me the correct Indirect way to say this sentence.

mayankyadav9989

I got 10/10,so great.thank you very much.

Smeykhun168

thank you !!! I like your lessons)) If I get 7 from IELTS test, I will do something for your site)))

Nur Azatulloeva

I got 9/9 …. you are an excellent teacher

Masterenglish

Thanks.

Soei

Great lesson!

Vijay Chawla

hi I have enjoyed wıth this site ıt is good to work wıth u :)

ulakci

Thanks for your video

Maryam Zaky

can anyone improve his English with me. My level is upper intermediate

Maryam Zaky

i got 8 out of 9.
Thanks lot :)

maatei2

i got 8 out 0f 9.
thanks sir benjamin.

tabish525

i got 9 on 9
thank you
it heped

tanau

I love Benjamin’s classes!!!

silenceold

Thank you, Benjamin!

Alexandr1981

Seeing the comments, I’m not so terrible :D (score:8/9).

Lucas Avelino

My friend told me that Benjamin was a great teacher and he’s right :) Thank you for this nice video Benjamin!

GizemGizem

Thank’s, Benjamim!

JulianaB

They told me that you were the best i got 100%

ALKEBSEE

what is mean “verb for reporting speech” is mean for other replace the word like “told and said”, please help me

aldo lata soba

good night i want to know about question word order to report indirect questions

little monster

Great lesson, Ben. I got 10/10. I’d like to point out
that your accent is an “extra class.” Totally love it.
Thanks a mill.

Sonia1234

Guys, what about past tense? For example._____Billy said ‘I visited that city’.____ Billy said that he had visited that city. Is my reported speech proper?

Medbrat

Just watching this video again and redoing the
quiz.
I thank you Engvid for having in your staff excellent
teachers like Benjamim as well as all the others.
I thank you all a lot.

Sonia1234

I got 10/10. Thank you,Benjamin.

zigmund

Thanks teacher, It is a great lesson.

EID55111

Thanks! A great lesson and a great teacher))

SkyEng

Hellow everyone, new comer is here

Hakim Miladi

Thanks Benjamin.

Alex-1956

Great. Thank you

anastasiiaPend

Hi Benjamin.
I listen and make the quiz of Engvid, especially off Gill and yours. At the same time I find your and Gill’s accent very beautiful. I don’t know if I can say that, but I find you also very hansom. I’m sorry.

kadirke

8 out of 9

ehsanmohammadi

Thanks a lot for this wonderful lesson

MONZIRIBRAHIM

Sorry. I do not think that teaching English is a good profession for you. Ben look at your eyes, you have a problem with something. Anyway all ths best to you.

interpio

Yesss 100. Thanks Benjamin.

rikaprana

Thanks a lot Mr. Benjamin.

Alex-1956

I am enjoying your teaching method Mr. Alex that was helpful thanks, I’ve got 9/9 on reported speech lesson

mehfuz

I have a 9 out of 9. Great lesson. Best regards from Poland to everyone :). I hope you guys have a great day.

Weronikaa

I got 10 out of 10. Wonderful.
Thanks to this https://directindirectspeech.com, I have successfully answered all

zahidkhan123

thank Benjamin

musa latjor

Thanks Benjamin!

Ruperto

Thank you brother!

Emmamusa

cheers mate!

ASH woo

I LOVED IT

Marian2405

Thank you!

Julia-iha

you are such a good teacher thank you for the great explanation

prema ananthi

Thanks Benjamin I got 9/9:)

Nazanin Zahra .T

thank you Ben.

nastiti titis

Billy said, “You are a jerk.”
Doesn’t it become that Billy said I was a jerk?
Or does it depend on to whom Billy said that sentence?
If Billy said to me, it’d be I was?

chingyin

That was amazing, I really like this quiz.

Rashmi Kaspal

9/9
best regards,Benjamin (Kazakhstan 27 Nov2021:)

Jannyl

many thanks

paeez

What about the verb and time who change into indirect

Megang

POV: your teacher told you to complete the quiz and now you are scrolling through the comment section just because.

sergioooo

Good introductory lesson to reported speech.

ALEX VALLE TOLEDO DA SILVEIRA

hi sir, thanks for your lesson. I want to know more about question 7, “backshift rule” in this kind of grammar confused me a lot. there’s a kind of sentence does not need to use backshift after transforming, they are sentences basing on something real, at present or hobbies. in this case, Lily likes chocolate ice cream, it is a hobby or something exists at present, right?, so why don’t the answer be like: Lily told me that she likes chocolate ice cream.
hope that you will respond me.
why don’t you release some video to talk about these kind of grammar? I feel it’s so interesting.

andrewgrimes

I got 8 out of 9

Mohammad Ashraf Khan

Grammar: Reported Speech / Indirect Speech

Test your understanding of this English lesson

270 COMMENTS

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