Reported Speech

What it means

Reported (indirect) speech tells what someone said without quoting their exact words. "I'm tired." → She said (that) she was tired. In Khmer (គាត់និយាយថា...) and Chinese (她说……) you just add "said that" and keep the same verb. In English, the verb, the pronouns and the time words often change.

How to make it

• Tense moves one step back when the reporting verb is past (said, told).
• present → past: "I'm tired." → She said she was tired.
• past → past perfect: "I lost my key." → He said he had lost his key.
• will → would, can → could: "I will call you tomorrow." → He told me he would call me the next day.
• Pronouns change: I → he/she, my → his/her, you → me (it depends on who is speaking).
• Time and place words change: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, here → there.
• "that" is optional: She said (that) she was tired.
• If something is still true now, you can keep the tense: "I live in Phnom Penh." → He said he lives in Phnom Penh.

When to use it

• Passing on a message: He told me he would call me the next day.
• Telling a story about a conversation: She said she was tired, so we went home.
• Reporting a question: She asked me where I lived.

Compare

• say + (that): She said (that) she was tired. (no person directly after "say")
• tell + person: She told me (that) she was tired.
• Yes/no question → if / whether: "Are you coming?" → He asked if I was coming.
• Wh- question → question word + normal word order: "Where do you live?" → She asked me where I lived.

Common mistakes

• ❌ She asked me where did I live. → ✅ She asked me where I lived. (no do/did; subject before verb)
• ❌ He said me he was busy. → ✅ He told me he was busy. / He said he was busy. (tell + person, say without a person)
• ❌ He asked me do I like coffee. → ✅ He asked me if I liked coffee. (yes/no questions need if or whether)