Hook

The doctor said, “Take this medicine twice a day.” How do you tell a friend later what the doctor said, without quoting word for word?

Notice

Direct: “I am tired,” she said. Reported: She said (that) she was tired. Direct: “You should rest,” the doctor told me. Reported: The doctor told me (that) I should rest.

Rule

Said doesn’t need a listener named (she said that…). Told needs a listener named (she told me that…). In basic reported speech, present simple usually shifts to past simple, and “am/is/are” becomes “was/were.” “That” is optional and often dropped in speech.

Practice

  1. “I am busy,” she said. → She ______ (say) she ______ (be) busy. Answer: said, was
  2. “You should rest,” he told me. → He ______ me I ______ (should) rest. Answer: told, should
  3. “I have a headache,” I said. → I said I ______ (have) a headache. Answer: had
  4. She ______ (tell) us she was feeling better. Answer: told
  5. He said ______ he needed to see a doctor. (small optional word) Answer: that

Connect

Spot reported speech mistakes with our Error Correction tool.

Try our Error Correction tool →

This lesson supports: I can report what someone else said in simple terms.

Azizul Hakim
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