Qi wants to play the zither
Simply, Reported Speech is a retelling of what someone had already said. And although the definition is a mouthful, Reported Speech isn’t complicated, especially if the speaker makes a Declarative Statement in Simple Present Tense.
If the aforementioned person spoke in Simple Present Tense (Pronoun, Verb, Noun), the Reported Speech will be in Simple Past Tense (Pronoun, Verb + d/ed, Preposition “to,” Noun). Be aware of irregular Verbs. Words like “say” become “said” and ETC.
Here’s an example:
Statement: I want to play the zither.
Reported Speech: Qi said that she wanted to play the zither.
A bit about grammar
What are the rules for using Reported Speech in a full sentence?
Constructing Reported Speech sentences in Simple Past Tense is like building a rudimentary structure with wooden blocks. Just put these parts together:
Report who spoke: “he/she” or Proper Name/Pronoun | Verb + d/ed Preposition “to” | Verb | Adverb.
She said that he | liked | to | eat | noodles.
Often, Verbs used with Reported Speech are “say/said, tell/told” and “mention/mentioned.” These words declare that someone else had said what the speaker is retelling.
Examples of Simple Past Tense Reported Speech
Statement: I want to sing.
Reported Speech: She said she wanted to sing.
Statement: I like to read books.
Reported Speech: He mentioned that he liked to read books.
Statement: “Rick is upset,” she said.
Reported Speech: She said that Rick was watching upset.
Let’s practice
Q1: Write the Reported Speech for this statement: “I like jogging in the morning.”
Answer: He said that he liked jogging in the morning.
Q2: Write the Reported Speech for this statement: “I love pets,” she said.
She said that she loved pets.
Q3: Try making your own sentence and convert it to Reported Speech.
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