Reported speech (also called indirect speech) is used to report what someone said without quoting their exact words. 🔹 Reported Statements : Direct: She said, 'I am happy.' Reported: She said (that) she was happy. Tense changes (backshift) : • present simple → past simple: 'I work' → he said he worked • present continuous → past continuous: 'I am eating' → she said she was eating • past simple → past perfect: 'I went' → he said he had gone • will → would: 'I will come' → she said she would come • can → could: 'I can help' → he said he could help Pronoun changes : • I → he/she ; my → his/her ; we → they ; you → I/they Time/place expressions : • now → then ; today → that day ; tomorrow → the next day • here → there ; last night → the night before 🔹 Reported Questions : Yes/No questions (introduced by if / whether) : • Direct: 'Are you ready?' → Reported: He asked if I was ready. Wh- questions (introduced by the question word) : • Direct: 'Where do you live?' → Reported: She asked where I lived. ⚠️ In reported questions: no inversion, no question mark, no auxiliary do/does/did.

📝 Statement reporting : 1. 'I love football.' (he said) → He said he loved football. 2. 'We are studying for the exam.' (they said) → They said they were studying for the exam. 3. 'I will visit Dakar tomorrow.' (she said) → She said she would visit Dakar the next day. 4. 'I can swim.' (he said) → He said he could swim. 📝 Question reporting : 1. 'Do you like music?' (he asked me) → He asked me if I liked music. 2. 'Where is the school?' (she asked) → She asked where the school was. 3. 'What time does the bus leave?' (he asked) → He asked what time the bus left. 4. 'Have you finished your homework?' (the teacher asked) → The teacher asked if we had finished our homework.