Direct and Indirect Speech Rules: Tenses, Questions and Commands (2026)

Most questions about direct and indirect speech start the same way: "Do I always have to change the tense?" You don't. You shift the tense back when the reporting verb is in the past and the words are no longer current, and you leave it alone when the fact is still true or the reporting verb is in the present.

That single answer clears up a lot of confusion, but narration has a few more moving parts. This guide covers:

• the backshift table for tenses and modal verbs, plus the cases where you skip it
• how pronouns, time words and place words change, and why that depends on who is reporting
• when to use say and when to use tell
• how to turn questions, commands and requests into reported sentences
• a six-step conversion method and eight practice sentences with answers

Direct and Indirect Speech: What Actually Changes?

Direct speech repeats a speaker's exact words inside quotation marks. Indirect speech, also called reported speech, gives the meaning of those words without quotation marks, usually after a reporting verb such as said, told or asked.

Look at one pair:

• Direct: Ayesha said, "I am preparing for my interview."
• Indirect: Ayesha said that she was preparing for her interview.

Four things moved. The quotation marks disappeared. The word that joined the two parts (you can drop it in casual English). I and my became she and her. And am preparing became was preparing. Every rule in this guide is a version of one of those four changes.

For students in Pakistan, this isn't only a textbook topic. A 2026 Class 11 English pairing scheme shared for Federal Board and AJK students lists direct and indirect narration as a 6-mark grammar question. At work you use the same skill when you write meeting minutes, summarize a client call for your manager or start an email with "The customer told us that...". Once the narration rules click, sentences like these take seconds.

The Backshift Table: How Tenses Change

When the reporting verb is in the past, you normally move each verb in the reported part one step further into the past. Grammar books call this backshift. The British Council's LearnEnglish page on reported statements sets out the standard pattern, and the table below uses the same steps with local examples.

Notice the word "usually" in two rows. If the order of events is already clear from the sentence, many writers keep the past simple. In an exam, the safer choice is the past perfect.

Modal Verbs in Reported Speech

Modals follow their own short list. EnglishClub's backshift guide gives these changes:

• will becomes would: "I will call you." → She said she would call me.
• can becomes could: "I can fix the printer." → He said he could fix the printer.
• shall becomes should, and may becomes might.
• must usually becomes had to, though it can stay as must when the deadline hasn't arrived yet.

Past perfect, would, could, should and might never change. If you see them in the quoted words, copy them across as they are.

When Should You Keep the Original Tense?

Of all the indirect speech rules, backshift is the one students overuse. It is a default, not a law. Students lose marks in both directions: some change every verb by reflex, others never change anything. There are three situations where the original tense can stay.

1. The reporting verb is in the present. If you write says or tells, you're reporting something current, so the verb stays as it was. "My teacher says the test is on Monday."
2. The statement is still true. The British Council's reported speech reference says you may keep the present tense when the situation hasn't changed, and that the past form is also correct. "I work at a bank in Abbottabad." → He told me he works (or worked) at a bank in Abbottabad.
3. It's a general truth. Facts that everyone accepts normally stay in the present. "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius." → The teacher said that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

A practical rule for school papers: backshift unless the sentence is a universal truth or the reporting verb is in the present. In everyday speech and emails, you have more freedom, and keeping the present tense often sounds more natural when the fact still holds.

Pronouns, Time Words and Place Words

Pronouns change to match the person who is now telling the story. If Bilal says, "I lost my wallet," and you report it, he becomes the subject: Bilal said that he had lost his wallet. If you were the original speaker, the pronouns stay the same: I said that I had lost my wallet.

Time and place words change for the same reason. They should still make sense at the moment of reporting. The usual changes are:

The key idea, which the British Council's statements page also stresses, is that you change these words only when they are no longer accurate. If your friend says, "I'll meet you here tomorrow," and you report it to someone else in the same café a minute later, "here" and "tomorrow" are still correct. Changing them would actually make your sentence wrong.

Say or Tell: Which Reporting Verb Fits?

Both verbs report statements, but their grammar is different. Perfect English Grammar puts it simply: tell needs an object, and say doesn't take one.

• Correct: He told me that the bus was late.
• Correct: He said that the bus was late.
• Wrong: He said me that the bus was late.
• Wrong: He told that the bus was late.

Many Pakistani textbooks write the direct sentence as He said to me, "...". When you convert it, said to me usually becomes told me. That one swap fixes a mistake we correct in almost every grammar class.

Tell also introduces orders: She told me to sit down. You'll use that pattern again in the section on commands.

How Do You Report Questions?

A reported question is no longer a question. It becomes a statement about what someone asked, so it uses statement word order and ends with a full stop. The British Council's guide to reported questions splits them into two groups.

Yes/No Questions: Use If or Whether

Add if or whether, remove do, does or did, and put the subject before the verb.

• The interviewer said to me, "Do you have a driving license?" → The interviewer asked me if I had a driving license.
• "Are you coming to the seminar?" she asked. → She asked whether I was coming to the seminar.

Wh- Questions: Keep the Question Word

Keep what, where, why, when, who or how, then switch to statement order.

• "Where do you live?" the clerk asked. → The clerk asked where I lived.
• "Why did you leave your last job?" he asked. → He asked why I had left my last job.

The most common slip here is keeping the question order: He asked where did I live. Read your sentence aloud. If it sounds like a question, the word order is still wrong.

Ask is the usual reporting verb. In formal writing you'll also see enquired, wanted to know and wondered.

Commands, Requests and Advice

Imperative sentences don't use that. Instead, you choose a verb that shows the function of the sentence and follow it with an object and a to-infinitive. For a negative command, put not before to. The British Council's reporting verbs page groups these patterns clearly.

Watch suggest. It never takes a to-infinitive, so "Sana suggested to take a break" is wrong. Use suggested taking or suggested that we take.

Choosing a precise verb also makes your writing sound more mature. Compare "He told me to be careful" with "He warned me to be careful". The second one tells the reader more.

Converting Direct and Indirect Speech in Six Steps

When a sentence looks complicated, slow down and work through it in order. These six steps handle almost every sentence you'll meet in a paper or an office email.

1. Identify the sentence type. Is it a statement, a yes/no question, a wh- question, or a command or request?
2. Choose the reporting verb. Use said or told for statements, asked for questions, and told, ordered, advised or similar for commands.
3. Pick the linker. That for statements, if or whether for yes/no questions, the question word for wh- questions, and to for commands.
4. Change the pronouns so they fit the person reporting.
5. Backshift tenses and modals, unless the reporting verb is present or the fact is still true.
6. Fix time words, place words, word order and punctuation. Remove the quotation marks and any question mark.

Try the method on one full sentence. Hamza said to me, "Can you help me with my CV tomorrow?" It's a yes/no question, so the verb is asked and the linker is if. You becomes I, me and my become him and his, can becomes could, and tomorrow becomes the next day. Result: Hamza asked me if I could help him with his CV the next day.

Mistakes That Cost Marks in Exams and Interviews

These direct and indirect speech errors come up again and again in written tests, and some of them carry into spoken English during job interviews.

• Keeping question word order. "She asked where was the office" should be "She asked where the office was."
• Using say with an object. "He said me" should be "He told me" or "He said to me".
• Mixing that with if. "He asked that if I was free" needs only one linker: "He asked if I was free."
• Forgetting the pronoun. "Ali said that I was tired" changes the meaning completely when Ali meant himself.
• Backshifting words that don't move. Could, would, might, should and the past perfect stay as they are.
• Using suggest + to. Write "suggested taking", not "suggested to take".
• Leaving the question mark. A reported question ends with a full stop.

Urdu speakers often bring one more habit across. In Urdu, it's natural to repeat someone's words after keh without changing the tense, so learners write "He said that he is coming" for something that happened last week. If the event is over, shift the tense.

Practice: Convert These 8 Sentences

Here is a short direct and indirect speech exercise. Cover the answers, write your version, then check. Assume each sentence is being reported a few days later, so time words should change.

1. Zainab said, "I am learning Excel this month."
2. The principal said to the students, "Don't run in the corridor."
3. Usman said to me, "Have you submitted your assignment?"
4. My brother said, "I will book the tickets tomorrow."
5. The trainer asked, "Why are you late?"
6. Mariam said, "We went to Islamabad yesterday."
7. Faisal said, "Let's practice speaking every evening."
8. The doctor said to my father, "You must walk daily."

If you missed number 5, check the word order. If you missed number 7, review the suggest pattern. Most errors fall into one of those two groups.

For more grammar practice with the same step-by-step style, read our guides on active and passive voice and the English tenses chart. Backshift is much easier once all 12 tenses feel familiar. Our list of common English mistakes Pakistanis make covers related errors with prepositions and articles.

How PSTA's Spoken English Course Handles Narration

Direct and indirect speech sticks best when you use it out loud, not only on paper. In PSTA's English Spoken & Grammar Course, grammar is taught alongside speaking, so you practice telling a classmate what someone else said, summarizing a role-play meeting and writing short work messages.

• Length and level: 12 weeks, designed for beginners.
• Relevant modules: Tenses & Grammar Usage in Speaking; Role Plays, Group Discussions & Public Speaking Practice; and Email, CV & Message Writing.
• How you attend: join in person at our Abbottabad campus, take live classes online from anywhere in Pakistan, or mix the two.
• Timings: a new batch begins each month, and classes run from Monday to Saturday, from 9 AM until 9:30 PM.
• Fee: the course page currently lists Rs. 12,000. Check the page before you apply, since fees can change.

If you're preparing for interviews, our list of English interview questions and answers pairs well with the course. You can compare all programs on the courses page, and when you're ready, the admission form takes a few minutes. Questions about batch timings can go to our team on WhatsApp at +92 314 5424399, or you can visit us in Mandian, Old College Road, opposite FIMS College.

A Five-Minute Drill Before Your Next Class

Open any WhatsApp chat from yesterday and pick five messages: a statement, a question, a request and two more of your choice. Rewrite each one in indirect speech, starting with "She said", "He asked" or "They told me". Then run each sentence through the six steps above. Five sentences a day for two weeks will do more for your narration marks than reading the rules ten more times.