Reported speech and passive reporting
Report statements, questions, and commands; reporting verbs in passive (It is said that…).
A — Sample sentences
Words like capital city, population, border, coast, climate, and region.
1) Reported statements — tense backshift
Said/told + (that) + past tense when the original was present.
- Direct: 'Our capital city is very old.' → Reported: She said (that) their capital city was very old.
- Direct: 'The population is growing fast.' → He told me (that) the population was growing fast.
- Direct: 'The coast is beautiful in summer.' → They said (that) the coast was beautiful in summer.
- Direct: 'The climate is mild here.' → She explained (that) the climate was mild there.
2) Reported questions and commands
Questions: asked + if / whether or wh-word. Commands: told + to + infinitive.
- Direct: 'Where is the border?' → He asked where the border was.
- Direct: 'Does the region have mountains?' → She asked if the region had mountains.
- Direct: 'Show me the map.' → The guide told us to show him the map.
- Direct: 'Don't cross the border without documents.' → They told us not to cross the border without documents.
3) Passive reporting — It is said that… / He is said to…
Impersonal or passive structure for rumours and general beliefs.
- It is said that the country's population will reach ten million soon.
- The lake is believed to be the deepest in the region.
- It is reported that the government will protect the forest.
- The capital is known to have a very dry climate.
The rest of this lesson is in the General English course:
- B — Quick reference
Try it: Choose the correct reported form
Direct speech in brackets — pick the best reported version.
- ('The valley is very green.') She said the valley ___ very green.
(a) is (b) was (c) has been - ('Where is the nearest major city?') He asked where the nearest major city ___.
(a) is (b) was (c) has been - ('Read about our country's history.') The teacher told us ___ about our country's history.
(a) read (b) to read (c) reading - It ___ that the desert area is expanding.
(a) reports (b) is reported (c) reported
Check your answers in the course — it marks them instantly. This is one of the unit's 4 exercises; the other 3 are in the General English course too.
Practise this unit in the course →