Reported Speech: What People Said

• CEFR B1–B2
• Grammar
• Printable
• Answer key

Reported Speech: What People Said is a printable grammar worksheet for English language learners at CEFR level B1–B2. It covers Tense shift: present → past, will → would, can → could, with 5 exercises and an answer key.

Reported speech tells us what someone said without using their exact words.

Verb tenses shift one step back: present simple → past simple, 'will' → 'would', 'can' → 'could'.

Pronouns also change: 'I' → she/he, 'my' → her/his, 'you' → I/they (depending on context).

Examples

• "I love Italian food." → She said she loved Italian food.
• "I will call you tomorrow." → He said he would call me the next day.
• "We have been to Paris." → They said they had been to Paris.
• "I can't come on Friday." → She said she couldn't come on Friday.
• "I am studying for my exam." → He said he was studying for his exam.
• "I don't know the answer." → She said she didn't know the answer.
• "We are going to move house." → They said they were going to move house.
• "I ate lunch an hour ago." → She said she had eaten lunch an hour before.

What's in this worksheet

1. Report the sentence
2. Correct the mistake
3. Direct to reported
4. What did they say?
5. Reported to direct

Common mistakes

• She said she will come.  →  She said she would come. 'Will' shifts to 'would' in reported speech.
• He told that he was tired.  →  He told me that he was tired. 'Tell' must be followed by a person (told me / told us) — not directly by 'that'.
• She said she can drive.  →  She said she could drive. 'Can' shifts to 'could' in reported speech.
• He said he has finished.  →  He said he had finished. Present perfect ('has finished') shifts to past perfect ('had finished').

Speaking prompts

• Tell your partner two things someone said to you this week.
• Report what a famous person once said (a quote you know).
• Your teacher says something — can you report it correctly?
• What did your partner say? Report it to the class.