reported speech youtube video

REPORTED SPEECH – How can I use it correctly?

In today’s blog we are going to look at how you can use this correctly. Below I’ve broken down everything for you in a step by step manner. There are examples with info graphics, and I’ve included my YouTube video lesson for all my visual learners as well. Let’s get started! Reported Speech comes from Direct Speech.

Direct Speech is exactly what someone says . Reported Speech is repeating someone else’s words .

Let’s look at 2 examples:

Professor Albert: Direct Speech

Students : Reported Speech. They are reporting Professor Albert’s words.

Trainer: Direct Speech.

Student: Reported Speech. Brenda is reporting her trainer’s words.

SAY and TELL are reporting verbs. We need these two verbs to report other people’s words.

SAY + (that): Amy said (that) she loved horses.

SAY + to + object + (that): Amy said to me (that) she loved horses.

TELL + object + (that): Amy told me (that) she loved horses.

(that) is optional.

COMMON MISTAKES!

Amy said me that she loved horses.

☑Amy told me that she loved horses.

Eric said Jack about his holiday.

☑Eric told Jack about his holiday.

My dad told to me that he was going to visit next week.

☑My dad said to me that he was going to visit next week.

SAY or TELL? How can I use these verbs correctly?

Tense Change in Reported Speech

When you use reported speech, many times the verb from direct speech changes. Think about the verb going one step backwards.

Present Simple → Past Simple

Direct Speech: I eat a lot of fruit. Reported Speech: Mary said that she ate a lot of fruit. / Mary told me that she ate a lot of fruit.

Present Continuous → Past Continuous 

Direct Speech: Our English is improving . Reported Speech: My students said that their English was improving . / My students told me that their English was improving. 

Present Perfect → Past Perfect

Direct Speech: I have been to France many times. Reported Speech: Gary said that he had been to France many times. / Gary told me that he had been to France many times.

Present Perfect Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous

Direct Speech: I’ ve been working out a lot lately. Reported Speech: My sister said that she had been working out  a lot lately. / My sister told me that she had been working out a lot lately.

Past Simple → Past Perfect 

Direct Speech: I bought a new car. Reported Speech: Jessica said that she that she had bought a new car. / Jessica told me that she had bought a new car.

Past Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous

Direct Speech: I was working as a chef. Reported Speech: Max said that he had been working as a chef. / Max told me that he had been working as a chef.

Past Perfect → Past Perfect (It stays the same!)

Direct Speech: I had gone to work. Reported Speech: Carla said that she had gone to work. / Carla told me that she had gone to work.

Past Perfect Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous (It stays the same!) 

Direct Speech: We had been agonizing over our mortgage for months. Reported Speech: Our neighbours said that they had been agonizing over their mortgage for months. / My neighbours told us that they had been agonizing over their mortgage for months.

Future Simple (WILL) → Would 

Direct Speech: You will be famous one day. Reported Speech: Rebecca said that I would be famous one day. / Rebecca told me that I would be famous one day.

Modal Verb Tense Change

Can → could .

Direct Speech: I can help you later. Reported Speech: My teacher said that she could help me later. / My teacher told me that she could help me later.

(Possibility) May → Might 

Direct Speech: I may go out later. I’m not sure. Reported Speech: George said that he might go out later. / George told me that he might go out later.

(Possibility) Might → Might (It stays the same!) 

Direct Speech: I might watch a Star Wars film later. Reported Speech: My flatmate said that she might watch a Star Wars film later. / My flatmate told me that she might watch a Star Wars film later.

(Obligation) Must → Had to

Direct Speech: Everyone must be here by 7 a.m. tomorrow. Reported Speech: Our boss said that we had to be here by 7 a.m. tomorrow. / Our boss told us that we had to be here by 7 a.m. tomorrow.

Should → Should (It stays the same!)

Direct Speech: You look tired Ramiro. You should sleep. Reported Speech: My girlfriend said that I should sleep. / My girlfriend told me that I should sleep.

Would → Would (It stays the same!)

Direct Speech: It would be nice to see you later. Reported Speech: Sarah said that it would be nice to see me later. / Sarah told me that it would be nice to see me later.

We DO NOT need to change the verb form if the information is STILL TRUE NOW.

So, remember earlier:

You can also say: Mary said that she eats a lot of fruit. (This information is still true now.) 

Direct Speech: Our English is improving. Reported Speech: My students said that their English was improving. / My students told me that their English was improving.

You can also say: My students said that their English is improving. (This information is still true now.) 

This is a lot of information to remember. This list is in my Free Library! Subscribe for the password: 

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Thank you so much for reading! I hope you found it helpful.

Don’t forget to check out my youtube channel ,  instagram ,   facebook  and  other blogs., see you next time arnel , related posts.

Adverb Clauses – where, when, how, why

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MUST or HAVE TO? modals of obligation, probability, deductions

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He Said, She Said: Mastering Reported Speech in English (Both Direct and Indirect)

“Reported speech” might sound fancy, but it isn’t that complicated.

It’s just how you talk about what someone said.

Luckily, it’s pretty simple to learn the basics in English, beginning with the two types of reported speech: direct (reporting the exact words someone said) and indirect (reporting what someone said without using their exact words ).

Read this post to learn how to report speech, with tips and tricks for each, plenty of examples and a resources section that tells you about real world resources you can use to practice reporting speech.

How to Report Direct Speech

How to report indirect speech, reporting questions in indirect speech, verb tenses in indirect reported speech, simple present, present continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, simple past, past continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, simple future, future continuous, future perfect, future perfect continuous, authentic resources for practicing reported speech, novels and short stories, native english videos, celebrity profiles.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Direct speech refers to the exact words that a person says. You can “report” direct speech in a few different ways.

To see how this works, let’s pretend that I (Elisabeth) told some people that I liked green onions.

Here are some different ways that those people could explain what I said:

Direct speech: “I like green onions,” Elisabeth said.

Direct speech: “I like green onions,” she told me. — In this sentence, we replace my name (Elisabeth) with the pronoun she.

In all of these examples, the part that was said is between quotation marks and is followed by a noun (“she” or “Elisabeth”) and a verb. Each of these verbs (“to say,” “to tell [someone],” “to explain”) are ways to describe someone talking. You can use any verb that refers to speech in this way.

You can also put the noun and verb before what was said.

Direct speech: Elisabeth said, “I like spaghetti.”

The example above would be much more likely to be said out loud than the first set of examples.

Here’s a conversation that might happen between two people:

1: Did you ask her if she liked coffee?

2: Yeah, I asked her.

1: What did she say?

2. She said, “Yeah, I like coffee.” ( Direct speech )

Usually, reporting of direct speech is something you see in writing. It doesn’t happen as often when people are talking to each other. 

Direct reported speech often happens in the past. However, there are all kinds of stories, including journalism pieces, profiles and fiction, where you might see speech reported in the present as well.

This is sometimes done when the author of the piece wants you to feel that you’re experiencing events in the present moment.

For example, a profile of Kristen Stewart in Vanity Fair  has a funny moment that describes how the actress isn’t a very good swimmer:

Direct speech: “I don’t want to enter the water, ever,” she says. “If everyone’s going in the ocean, I’m like, no.”

Here, the speech is reported as though it’s in the present tense (“she says”) instead of in the past (“she said”).

In writing of all kinds, direct reported speech is often split into two or more parts, as it is above.

Here’s an example from Lewis Carroll’s “ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ,” where the speech is even more split up:

Direct speech: “I won’t indeed!” said Alice, in a great hurry to change the subject of conversation. “Are you—are you fond—of—of dogs?” The Mouse did not answer, so Alice went on eagerly: “There is such a nice little dog near our house I should like to show you!”

Reporting indirect speech is what happens when you explain what someone said without using their exact words.

Let’s start with an example of direct reported speech like those used above.

Direct speech: Elisabeth said, “I like coffee.”

As indirect reported speech, it looks like this:

Indirect speech: Elisabeth said she liked coffee.

You can see that the subject (“I”) has been changed to “she,” to show who is being spoken about. If I’m reporting the direct speech of someone else, and this person says “I,” I’d repeat their sentence exactly as they said it. If I’m reporting this person’s speech indirectly to someone else, however, I’d speak about them in the third person—using “she,” “he” or “they.”

You may also notice that the tense changes here: If “I like coffee” is what she said, this can become “She liked coffee” in indirect speech.

However, you might just as often hear someone say something like, “She said she likes coffee.” Since people’s likes and preferences tend to change over time and not right away, it makes sense to keep them in the present tense.

Indirect speech often uses the word “that” before what was said:

Indirect speech: She said that she liked coffee.

There’s no real difference between “She said she liked coffee” and “She said that she liked coffee.” However, using “that” can help make the different parts of the sentence clearer.

Let’s look at a few other examples:

Indirect speech: I said I was going outside today.

Indirect speech: They told me that they wanted to order pizza.

Indirect speech: He mentioned it was raining.

Indirect speech: She said that her father was coming over for dinner.

You can see an example of reporting indirect speech in the funny video “ Cell Phone Crashing .” In this video, a traveler in an airport sits down next to another traveler talking on his cell phone. The first traveler pretends to be talking to someone on his phone, but he appears to be responding to the second traveler’s conversation, which leads to this exchange:

Woman: “Are you answering what I’m saying?”

Man “No, no… I’m on the phone with somebody, sorry. I don’t mean to be rude.” (Direct speech)

Woman: “What was that?”

Man: “I just said I was on the phone with somebody.” (Indirect speech)

When reporting questions in indirect speech, you can use words like “whether” or “if” with verbs that show questioning, such as “to ask” or “to wonder.”

Direct speech: She asked, “Is that a new restaurant?”

Indirect speech: She asked if that was a new restaurant. 

In any case where you’re reporting a question, you can say that someone was “wondering” or “wanted to know” something. Notice that these verbs don’t directly show that someone asked a question. They don’t describe an action that happened at a single point in time. But you can usually assume that someone was wondering or wanted to know what they asked.

Indirect speech: She was wondering if that was a new restaurant.

Indirect speech: She wanted to know whether that was a new restaurant.

It can be tricky to know how to use tenses when reporting indirect speech. Let’s break it down, tense by tense.

Sometimes, indirect speech “ backshifts ,” or moves one tense further back into the past. We already saw this in the example from above:

Direct speech: She said, “I like coffee.”

Indirect speech: She said she liked coffee.

Also as mentioned above, backshifting doesn’t always happen. This might seem confusing, but it isn’t that difficult to understand once you start using reported speech regularly.

What tense you use in indirect reported speech often just depends on when what you’re reporting happened or was true.

Let’s look at some examples of how direct speech in certain tenses commonly changes (or doesn’t) when it’s reported as indirect speech.

To learn about all the English tenses (or for a quick review), check out this post .

Direct speech: I said, “I play video games.”

Indirect speech: I said that I played video games (simple past) or I said that I play video games  (simple present).

Backshifting into the past or staying in the present here can change the meaning slightly. If you use the first example, it’s unclear whether or not you still play video games; all we know is that you said you played them in the past.

If you use the second example, though, you probably still play video games (unless you were lying for some reason).

However, the difference in meaning is so small, you can use either one and you won’t have a problem.

Direct speech: I said, “I’m playing video games.”

Indirect speech: I said that I was playing video games (past continuous) or I said that I’m playing video games (present continuous).

In this case, you’d likely use the first example if you were telling a story about something that happened in the past.

You could use the second example to repeat or stress what you just said. For example:

Hey, want to go for a walk?

Direct speech: No, I’m playing video games.

But it’s such a nice day!

Indirect speech: I said that I’m playing video games!

Direct speech: Marie said, “I have read that book.”

Indirect speech: Marie said that she had read that book (past perfect) or Marie said that she has read that book (present perfect).

The past perfect is used a lot in writing and other kinds of narration. This is because it helps point out an exact moment in time when something was true.

The past perfect isn’t quite as useful in conversation, where people are usually more interested in what’s true now. So, in a lot of cases, people would use the second example above when speaking.

Direct speech: She said, “I have been watching that show.”

Indirect speech: She said that she had been watching that show (past perfect continuous) or She said that she has been watching that show (present perfect continuous).

These examples are similar to the others above. You could use the first example whether or not this person was still watching the show, but if you used the second example, it’d probably seem like you either knew or guessed that she was still watching it.

Direct speech: You told me, “I charged my phone.”

Indirect speech: You told me that you had charged your phone (past perfect) or You told me that you charged your phone (simple past).

Here, most people would probably just use the second example, because it’s simpler, and gets across the same meaning.

Direct speech: You told me, “I was charging my phone.”

Indirect speech: You told me that you had been charging your phone (past perfect continuous) or You told me that you were charging your phone (past continuous).

Here, the difference is between whether you had been charging your phone before or were charging your phone at the time. However, a lot of people would still use the second example in either situation.

Direct speech: They explained, “We had bathed the cat on Wednesday.”

Indirect speech: They explained that they had bathed the cat on Wednesday. (past perfect)

Once we start reporting the past perfect tenses, we don’t backshift because there are no tenses to backshift to.

So in this case, it’s simple. The tense stays exactly as is. However, many people might simplify even more and use the simple past, saying, “They explained that they bathed the cat on Wednesday.”

Direct speech: They said, “The cat had been going outside and getting dirty for a long time!”

Indirect speech: They said that the cat had been going outside and getting dirty for a long time. (past perfect continuous)

Again, we don’t shift the tense back here; we leave it like it is. And again, a lot of people would report this speech as, “They said the cat was going outside and getting dirty for a long time.” It’s just a simpler way to say almost the same thing.

Direct speech: I told you, “I will be here no matter what.”

Indirect speech: I told you that I would be here no matter what. (present conditional)

At this point, we don’t just have to think about tenses, but grammatical mood, too. However, the idea is still pretty simple. We use the conditional (with “would”) to show that at the time the words were spoken, the future was uncertain.

In this case, you could also say, “I told you that I will be here no matter what,” but only if you “being here” is still something that you expect to happen in the future.

What matters here is what’s intended. Since this example shows a person reporting their own speech, it’s more likely that they’d want to stress the truth of their own intention, and so they might be more likely to use “will” than “would.”

But if you were reporting someone else’s words, you might be more likely to say something like, “She told me that she would be here no matter what.”

Direct speech: I said, “I’ll be waiting for your call.”

Indirect speech: I said that I would be waiting for your call. (conditional continuous)

These are similar to the above examples, but apply to a continuous or ongoing action.

Direct speech: She said, “I will have learned a lot about myself.”

Indirect speech: She said that she would have learned a lot about herself (conditional perfect) or She said that she will have learned a lot about herself (future perfect).

In this case, using the conditional (as in the first example) suggests that maybe a certain event didn’t happen, or something didn’t turn out as expected.

However, that might not always be the case, especially if this was a sentence that was written in an article or a work of fiction. The second example, however, suggests that the future that’s being talked about still hasn’t happened yet.

Direct speech: She said, “By next Tuesday, I will have been staying inside every day for the past month.”

Indirect speech: She said that by next Tuesday, she would have been staying inside every day for the past month (perfect continuous conditional) or She said that by next Tuesday, she will have been staying inside every day for the past month (past perfect continuous).

Again, in this case, the first example might suggest that the event didn’t happen. Maybe the person didn’t stay inside until next Tuesday! However, this could also just be a way of explaining that at the time she said this in the past, it was uncertain whether she really would stay inside for as long as she thought.

The second example, on the other hand, would only be used if next Tuesday hadn’t happened yet.

Let’s take a look at where you can find resources for practicing reporting speech in the real world.

One of the most common uses for reported speech is in fiction. You’ll find plenty of reported speech in novels and short stories . Look for books that have long sections of text with dialogue marked by quotation marks (“…”). Once you understand the different kinds of reported speech, you can look for it in your reading and use it in your own writing.

Writing your own stories is a great way to get even better at understanding reported speech.

One of the best ways to practice any aspect of English is to watch native English videos. By watching English speakers use the language, you can understand how reported speech is used in real world situations.

If you struggle to understand English videos, you can use a program like FluentU to help you through subtitles and other learning tools.

Celebrity profiles, which you can find in print magazines and online, can help you find and practice reported speech, too. Celebrity profiles are stories that focus on a famous person. They often include some kind of interview. The writer will usually spend some time describing the person and then mention things that they say; this is when they use reported speech.

Because many of these profiles are written in the present tense, they can help you get used to the basics of reported speech without having to worry too much about different verb tenses.

While the above may seem really complicated, it isn’t that difficult to start using reported speech.

Mastering it may be a little difficult, but the truth is that many, many people who speak English as a first language struggle with it, too!

Reported speech is flexible, and even if you make mistakes, there’s a good chance that no one will notice.

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• B1-B2 grammar

Reported speech: statements

Do you know how to report what somebody else said? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how we can tell someone what another person said.

direct speech: 'I love the Toy Story films,' she said. indirect speech: She said she loved the Toy Story films. direct speech: 'I worked as a waiter before becoming a chef,' he said. indirect speech: He said he'd worked as a waiter before becoming a chef. direct speech: 'I'll phone you tomorrow,' he said. indirect speech: He said he'd phone me the next day.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar B1-B2: Reported speech 1: 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

Reported speech is when we tell someone what another person said. To do this, we can use direct speech or indirect speech.

direct speech: 'I work in a bank,' said Daniel. indirect speech: Daniel said that he worked in a bank.

In indirect speech, we often use a tense which is 'further back' in the past (e.g. worked ) than the tense originally used (e.g. work ). This is called 'backshift'. We also may need to change other words that were used, for example pronouns.

Present simple, present continuous and present perfect

When we backshift, present simple changes to past simple, present continuous changes to past continuous and present perfect changes to past perfect.

'I travel a lot in my job.' Jamila said that she travelled a lot in her job. 'The baby's sleeping!' He told me the baby was sleeping. 'I've hurt my leg.' She said she'd hurt her leg.

Past simple and past continuous

When we backshift, past simple usually changes to past perfect simple, and past continuous usually changes to past perfect continuous.

'We lived in China for five years.' She told me they'd lived in China for five years. 'It was raining all day.' He told me it had been raining all day.

Past perfect

The past perfect doesn't change.

'I'd tried everything without success, but this new medicine is great.' He said he'd tried everything without success, but the new medicine was great.

No backshift

If what the speaker has said is still true or relevant, it's not always necessary to change the tense. This might happen when the speaker has used a present tense.

'I go to the gym next to your house.' Jenny told me that she goes to the gym next to my house. I'm thinking about going with her. 'I'm working in Italy for the next six months.' He told me he's working in Italy for the next six months. Maybe I should visit him! 'I've broken my arm!' She said she's broken her arm, so she won't be at work this week.

Pronouns, demonstratives and adverbs of time and place

Pronouns also usually change in indirect speech.

'I enjoy working in my garden,' said Bob. Bob said that he enjoyed working in his garden. 'We played tennis for our school,' said Alina. Alina told me they'd played tennis for their school.

However, if you are the person or one of the people who spoke, then the pronouns don't change.

'I'm working on my thesis,' I said. I told her that I was working on my thesis. 'We want our jobs back!' we said. We said that we wanted our jobs back.

We also change demonstratives and adverbs of time and place if they are no longer accurate.

'This is my house.' He said this was his house. [You are currently in front of the house.] He said that was his house. [You are not currently in front of the house.] 'We like it here.' She told me they like it here. [You are currently in the place they like.] She told me they like it there. [You are not in the place they like.] 'I'm planning to do it today.' She told me she's planning to do it today. [It is currently still the same day.] She told me she was planning to do it that day. [It is not the same day any more.]

In the same way, these changes to those , now changes to then , yesterday changes to the day before , tomorrow changes to the next/following day and ago changes to before .

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar B1-B2: Reported speech 1: 2

Language level

Good evening from Turkey.

Is the following example correct: Question: When did she watch the movie?

She asked me when she had watched the movie. or is it had she watched the movie. 

Do Subjects come before the verbs? Thank you. 

• Log in or register to post comments

Hello muratt,

This is a reported question, not an actual question, as you can see from the fact that it has no question mark at the end. Therefore no inversion is needed and the normal subject-verb word order is maintained: ...she had watched... is correct.

You can read more about this here:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/reported-speech-questions

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you for your response.

Hello Sir, kindly help with the following sentence-

She said, "When I was a child I wasn't afraid of ghosts." 

Please tell me how to write this sentence in reported/ indirect speech.

Hello! I was studying reported speech and I didn't really understand the difference between 'need' and 'need to' when we shift them. Could you please explain a little bit about the semi-modal need? I came across to this while I was studying: Backshift Changes need (no change) ‘You needn’t come till six o’clock,’ he said. He said we needn’t come till six o’clock. AND need to (becomes needed to) She said, 'I need to have a party.' She said she needed to have a party. Why do we change 'need to' but not 'need'? Could you also please give a positive indirect reported speech with the word 'need' and a negative indirect speech with the word 'need to'? Thanks in advance!

Hello Meldo,

'need' can be used -- and is most often used -- as an ordinary verb. In the text you copied above, this is the second entry ('need to'). Since it is an ordinary verb, in indirect speech, it backshifts in the way other ordinary verbs do. An example of a negative form here is 'They told me I didn't need to bring my passport'.

Particularly in British English (only very rarely in American English), 'need' can also be used as a modal verb. In this case, it behaves as a modal verb, i.e. no 's' is added to a third person singular form, infinitives after it are used without 'to' and 'do/does/did' is not used to form questions, negatives or past simple forms. This is also why '-ed' is not added for a backshift.

When 'need' is a modal, it's most commonly used in the negative. It is possible to use it in questions (e.g. 'Need I bring my passport?' or 'I asked if I need bring my passport'), but it's generally not used in the affirmative.

You might find this BBC page and this  Cambridge Dictionary explanation helpful if you'd like to read more.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Do we change 'had better' in indirect reported speech? I think no, but I just wanted to make sure. Can you also give an example with 'had better' in an indirect speech? Thanks a lot! The best English grammar site ever!

Hello Melis_06,

'had better' is not generally changed in reported speech. Here's an example for you:

• direct: 'You had better be on time!'
• indirect: They told us we had better be on time.

Glad you find our site useful!

Could you tell me why say is sometimes used in reported speech instead of said?

Hello Khangvo2812,

In general, it's used when it's something that people say not just in one specific situation, but in general. 

We also sometimes use the present simple to talk about the past when telling stories. You can read more about this on our Present simple page -- scroll down to the very end of the explanation, just after the Present simple 8 exercise.

If there's a specific sentence you want to ask about, please include it in your comment.

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Reported Speech in English – Video and Exercise

Reported speech in English is used to tell someone what you or someone else said in the past. The video below has great illustrations that makes this much more clear and understandable. It will help you change different tenses to reported speech, and will also teach you some of the reporting verbs that we use in English.

Try these exercises on reported speech, then watch the video below to see how you did.

Change the sentences to reported speech. (If it seems to difficult, watch the video first).

Example: Amy: “I like skiing.” -> Amy says she like skiing.

1. Amy: “I am running.”

2. Amy: “I’ve been to Spain.”

3. Amy: “I bought new shoes.”

4. Amy: “I was reading when you called.”

5. Amy: “I am going to Argentina.”

6. Amy: “I will call you.”

Change the sentences to reported speech, exactly like the first exercise.

1. Jim: “I am going to see a movie tonight.”

2. Anne: “I was watching TV when I got the phone call.”

3. Fred: “I’ve been thinking about buying a boat.”

4. John: “I am listening to a new album.”

5. Joe: “I hate that show Friends.”

6. Sam: “I will buy dinner.”

7. Kelly: “I got you a present.”

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Reported Speech

If we want to say what somebody has said, we basically have two options:

• We can use the person's exact words - in quotation marks "..." if we are writing ( direct speech ).
• We can change the person's words into our own words ( reported speech ).

In this lesson we learn about reported speech , the structure that we use when we report what another person has said, and reported speech rules.

Now we will look at:

• Reported Statements
• Time and Place
• Reported Questions
• Reported Requests
• Reported Orders And then you can check your understanding of reported speech with...
• Reported Speech Quiz

Reported speech is called "indirect speech" by some people. Other people regard reported speech simply as one form of indirect speech. Other forms are, for example:

• questions-within-questions: Can you tell me if they are expensive?
• mental processes: He believes that politics is a dirty game.

How do you write reported speech in English? - Easy Learning Grammar

Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Score: 0 / 5

Missouri Teen Kaylee Gain, Beaten on Video, Has Started Talking, Family Says

M issouri teen Kaylee Gain, who was beaten on video by another teenager, has started talking, her family’s attorney revealed in a new statement on March 29.

However, the teenager still has a long recovery as her ability to talk is “limited,” KRCGtv reported.

Gain’s lawyer Bryan Kaemmerer told KRCGtv that the teen now has “limited verbal communications.”

However, the television station reported that Gain, 16, “is still unable to walk without the assistance of hospital staff.”

Gain was beaten on March 8 on a sidewalk near Hazelwood East High School in Missouri. The video, which went viral, shows another girl striking Gain’s head against the concrete. That girl, 15, has now been charged with assault, according to The New York Post.

Here’s what you need to know:

Kaylee Gain Has Started Undergoing Speech Therapy, Her Family’s Lawyer Says

Kaemmerer told KRCGtv that Gain has started undergoing speech therapy. Heavy has reached out to the family’s attorney for additional comments.

“Kaylee also recently began speech therapy, and has gone on a few short walks with the assistance of hospital staff as she is still unable to ambulate on her own,” the attorney said, according to The New York Post, which reported that she is out of a coma.

“However, Kaylee does not have any recollection of the altercation that led to her hospitalization,” he continued, according to The Post.

The lawyer’s statement to KRCG also criticized the family of the girl accused of beating Gain, who defended her.

“If anything, the accused reported level of intelligence suggest that she was fully capable of understanding that violence of this nature would lead to the devastating injuries that Kaylee has sustained, and therefore provides a further reason why it is appropriate for her to be tried as an adult,” Kaemmerer wrote, according to the television station.

The family started a petition seeking leniency for the teen. It describes her as an “honor roll student at Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis County, MO. She is multilingual, speaking four languages including Spanish and Korean, plays the violin in the school orchestra, played on her school’s volleyball team and was recently selected for college-level AP classes due to her academic excellence. Prior to an incident on March 8th where she was seen defending herself from harassment and bullying, she had never been in trouble. Her work as a scholar was tainted by the bullying she had to endure at school.”

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey previously called for the girl accused in the beating to stand trial as an adult, writing on X, “This evil and complete disregard for human life has no place in Missouri, or anywhere. I am praying for the victim. The criminal should be charged and tried as an adult. If the victim dies, that offense should rise to a homicide.”

The Family of Kaylee Gain Has Also Shared Updates on Her Condition on GoFundMe Pages

Gain’s family previously shared an update on her condition on a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $400,000.

The latest update on that page is from March 22. It reads,

This is April Kaylees mom I wanted to come on here to first and foremost and thank everyone for the generousity, love & support u have shown for Kaylee and our family. To everyone that has donated and also sent there thoughts , love and prayers we wanted to thank you from the bottom of our hearts the overwhelming amount of support for Kaylee and our family has been amazing. We are so happy and blessed to announce that Kaylee is now stable, breathing on her own , and was moved out of the ICU. She still has an incredibly long journey ahead of her but she is strong. We will update Kaylees gofundme’s when we can as changes continue to happen. Thank you again to everybody for your support we are so grateful!

READ NEXT: Caitlin Clark’s Family.

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This article was originally published on Heavy.com

The post Missouri Teen Kaylee Gain, Beaten on Video, Has Started Talking, Family Says appeared first on Heavy.com .

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In Ohio campaign rally, Trump says there will be a "bloodbath" if he loses November election

Updated on: March 18, 2024 / 10:37 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Former President Donald Trump claimed that he — not President Biden — will protect Social Security and warned of a "bloodbath" if he loses in November as he campaigned for Senate candidate Bernie Moreno in Ohio over the weekend.

Trump, speaking on a wind-whipped airfield outside of Dayton Saturday, praised his chosen candidate in the race as an "America first champion" and "political outsider who has spent his entire life building up Ohio communities."

"He's going to be a warrior in Washington," Trump said, days after securing enough delegates to clinch the 2024 Republican nomination.

Trump used the stage to deliver a profanity-filled version of his usual rally speech that again painted an apocalyptic picture of the country if Biden wins a second term.

"If I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath. ... It's going to be a bloodbath for the country," he warned, while talking about the impact of offshoring on the country's auto industry and his plan to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made cars.

Later, Trump said, "If this election isn't won, I'm not sure that you'll ever have another election in this country."

Trump repeatedly noted his difficulty reading from his teleprompters, which could be seen visibly whipping in 35-mile-per-hour wind gusts.

In a statement in response to Trump's "bloodbath" comments Saturday, James Singer, spokesperson for the Biden presidential campaign, said that Trump "wants another January 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge."

When reached by CBS News in an attempt to clarify Trump's "bloodbath" remark, Jason Miller, senior adviser for the Trump campaign, responded that "any reporter that falls for this Biden camp spin is stupid."

In a social media post on Monday, Trump said the media "pretended to be shocked at my use of the word BLOODBATH, even though they fully understood that I was simply referring to imports."

In that full portion of his remarks, he said: "Let me tell you something, to China, if you're listening, President Xi, and you and I are friends, but he understands the way I deal, those big monster car manufacturing plants that you're building in Mexico right now. And you think you're going to get that, you're going to not hire Americans and you're going to sell the cars us, no. We're going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line and you're not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected. Now if I don't get elected, it's gonna be a bloodbath for the whole — that's gonna be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it."

Saturday's rally was hosted by Buckeye Values PAC, a group backing Moreno's Senate candidacy against Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Ohio state Sen. Matt Dolan in Tuesday's GOP primary. LaRose and Moreno have aligned themselves with the pro-Trump faction of the party, while Dolan is backed by more establishment Republicans, including Gov. Mike DeWine and former Sen. Rob Portman.

Trump also dismissed recent allegations against Moreno, comparing them to attacks he has faced through the years, including his criminal indictments . Trump has been charged in four separate cases that span his handling of classified documents to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

"He's getting some very tough Democrat fake treatment right now," Trump said. "And we're not going to stand for it because I know this man. We all know this man. He's a hero, he's a winner. And we're not going to let these people — these people are sick."  

The Associated Press reported on Thursday that in 2008, someone with access to Moreno's work email account created a profile on an adult website. The AP could not definitively confirm that it was created by Moreno himself. Moreno's lawyer said a former intern created the account and provided a statement from the intern, Dan Ricci, who said he created the account as "part of a juvenile prank."

Questions about the profile have circulated in GOP circles for the past month, sparking frustration among senior Republican operatives about Moreno's potential vulnerability in a general election, according to seven people who are directly familiar with conversations about how to address the matter. They requested anonymity to avoid running afoul of Trump and his allies. 

Trump, in his remarks, also accused Mr. Biden of posing a threat to Social Security as he continued to clean up comments from an interview earlier this week in which he appeared to voice openness to cuts.

"Your Social Security is going to be gone," he warned of a Biden second term, even though Biden has pledged to protect and strengthen Social Security as it faces a projected budget shortfall. "You will not be able to have Social Security with this guy in office because he's destroying the economics of our country. And that includes Medicare, by the way, and American seniors are gong to be in big trouble."

"I made a promise that I will always keep Social Security, Medicare. We always will keep it. We never will cut it," he said.

The comments came after Trump, in an interview with CNBC, answered a question about Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid by saying that, "there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements, tremendous bad management of entitlements. There's tremendous amounts of things and numbers of things you can do."

Trump also continued to criticize Biden over his handling of the border, and the migrant crisis. And he laced into Dolan, calling him a "weak RINO" — a Republican in name only — and accused him of "trying to become the next Mitt Romney." He also criticized the Dolan family, which owns Cleveland's baseball team, for changing its name from the Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians.

Trump was joined at the rally by Ohio Sen. JD Vance and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who have both stumped with Moreno and are considered potential vice-presidential candidates.

• Donald Trump

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3 presidents, celebrity performances and protester interruptions at Biden campaign's $26M fundraiser

President Joe Biden was joined Thursday by two of his Democratic predecessors for a star-studded fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall that his campaign said brought in more than $26 million.

Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton participated in the event in New York with more than 5,000 supporters in attendance — including several protesters who interrupted the program when the three presidents were speaking.

Actor and comedian Mindy Kaling hosted the program, which ended at around 10 p.m., and late night host Stephen Colbert moderated a conversation with Biden, Clinton and Obama. Special guests include celebrities like Queen Latifah, Lizzo , Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele.

During the nearly hourlong moderated conversation, Colbert joked that the moment was historic because “three presidents have come to New York, and not one of them to appear in court,” taking a jab at former President Donald Trump’s criminal indictments and civil trials.

Clinton also took a swipe at Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, arguing that he "had a good couple of years because he stole them from Barack Obama.”

But the discussion was interrupted at least five times by protesters. Colbert acknowledged one protester and asked Biden about the U.S. role in ensuring a peaceful and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Biden said more needed to be done to get relief into Gaza but added that Israel's very existence was at stake.

"There has to be a train for a two-state solution," Biden said. "It doesn’t have to carry today. There has to be a progression. And I think we can do that."

His response was met with a standing ovation and chants of "four more years."

Obama sternly addressed a protester when he was interrupted, saying, "You can’t just talk and not listen."

"That’s part of democracy," Obama added. "Part of democracy is not just talking. It’s listening. That’s what the other side does, and it is important for us to understand that it is possible to have moral clarity and have deeply held beliefs but still recognize that the world is complicated and it is hard to solve these problems."

The crowd erupted in applause.

Biden’s team has taken steps to minimize disruptions , including making events smaller and withholding exact locations longer than usual, after a speech in January when pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted him about a dozen times.

Outside the New York venue Thursday, more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters chanted slogans like “Biden, Biden, you’re a liar,” and waved Palestinian flags and signs with anti-war messages.

The group Abandon Biden encouraged people to protest the president during his visit over the White House’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

“We cannot idly sit by as our president aides and abets genocide in Gaza,” the group’s New York co-chair Mosaab Sadia said in a statement. “The movement to Abandon Biden is only just beginning.”

Inside Radio City Music Hall, the novelty of having three presidents in the same room was not lost on attendees.

Earlier in the program, Kaling joked about having Biden, Obama and Clinton in the same room, saying that when someone shouts “Mr. President,” three people turn around.

Ticket prices started at $250, but the largest contributions shot up to half a million dollars. Some of the biggest donors were to have their pictures taken with all three presidents by photographer Annie Leibovitz.

First lady Jill Biden called the program “the fundraiser to end all fundraisers.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also delivered remarks.

For the three presidents, the fundraiser capped off a day of mobilization efforts that included sitting for an interview with the podcast "SmartLess," which the White House said would be available at a later, unspecified date.

They also sat for a discussion with Biden's campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, which was streamed to grassroots donors. The presidents talked about re-election efforts — both Clinton and Obama served two terms — as well as lighter topics, like favorite ice cream favors.

"You're all part of an incredible team we're building, and we're just getting started," Biden said in his closing message during the discussion. "So let's keep going. Let's win this November."

The trio arrived at Radio City Music Hall together in "The Beast" — the president’s car in the motorcade.

Biden also invited Obama to ride in The Beast after he landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where they enjoyed catching up on their personal and professional lives, an aide to Obama told NBC News.

The show of unity among Biden, Clinton and Obama stands in stark contrast to Trump, who faces opposition from members of his own administration , including former Vice President Mike Pence , as he seeks a return to the White House in November.

Former President George W. Bush — the only other Republican former president — declined to support Trump in 2020.

The Trump campaign has not held a major event since March 16. Earlier Thursday, Trump attended the wake for a New York police officer who was shot and killed in Queens on Monday.

Biden and Trump are polling neck-and-neck, with 46% of voters supporting Trump and 45% supporting Biden, according to a March poll by CNBC . That poll, however, had Trump leading Biden by 30 percentage points when respondents were asked which candidate was the best on economic issues.

During Thursday's moderated discussion, Colbert asked Clinton what he would say to voters who do not feel like the economy is strong. Clinton answered that the 2008 recession and Covid are still affecting voters and that Trump did not sustain economic growth spurred by Obama. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have methodically "put Humpty Dumpty back together again," Clinton said.

"We should not make 2016's mistake again," he added, referring to when Trump defeated his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Mike Memoli is an NBC News correspondent. 

Megan Lebowitz is a politics reporter for NBC News.

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Obama, Clinton and big-name entertainers help Biden raise a record $26 million for his reelection

President Joe Biden, right, and former presidents Barack Obama, left, and Bill Clinton participate in a fundraising event with Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden, center, and former presidents Barack Obama, left, and Bill Clinton, right, participate in a fundraising event with Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden, left center, and former presidents Barack Obama, right center, and Bill Clinton participate in a fundraising event with Stephen Colbert, left, at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Former President Bill Clinton participates in a fundraising event for President Joe Biden with former president Barack Obama and Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden stands with former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton participate in a fundraising event with Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Stephen Colbert speaks during a fundraising event of President Joe Biden with former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden, left, and former President Barack Obama arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden, left, and former President Barack Obama exit Air Force One upon arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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NEW YORK (AP) — Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and some big names from the entertainment world teamed up Thursday night to deliver a rousing New York embrace of President Joe Biden that hauled in a record-setting $26 million-plus for his reelection campaign.

The mood at Radio City Music Hall was electric as Obama praised Biden’s willingness to look for common ground and said, “That’s the kind of president I want.” Clinton said simply of the choices facing voters in 2024: “Stay with what works.”

Biden himself went straight at Donald Trump, saying his expected GOP rival’s ideas were “a little old and out of shape.”

Moderator Stephen Colbert, in an armchair conversation with the trio, called them “champion talkers” and joked that the three presidents had come to town “and not one of them is here to appear in court,” a dig at Trump’s many legal troubles.

The eye-popping fundraising haul was a major show of Democratic support for Biden at a time of persistently low poll numbers. The president will test the power of his campaign cash as he faces off with Trump, who proved with his 2016 win over Democrat Hillary Clinton that he didn’t need to raise the most money to seize the presidency.

During the nearly hourlong conversation, Obama and Clinton explained just how hard Biden’s job is. They spoke of loneliness and frustration over policies that work but aren’t immediately felt by the public. They gave an insider’s view of the office as they sought to explain why Biden was best for the job.

“It is a lonely seat,” said Obama, who had hitched a ride to New York on Air Force One with Biden.

The talk was by turns humorous and serious, ending with all three donning sunglasses in the mostly dark music hall, a nod to the trademark Ray-Ban sunglasses that Biden often wears.

The sold-out Radio City Music Hall event was a gilded exclamation mark on a recent burst of campaign travel by Biden, who has visited several political battlegrounds in the three weeks since his State of the Union address served as a rallying cry for his reelection bid . Thursday’s event also brought together more than three decades of Democratic leadership .

The music hall’s marquee advertised the big-dollar night as “An Evening with Joe Biden Barack Obama Bill Clinton.” NYPD officers lined surrounding streets as part of a heavy security presence.

Protesters angry at Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza and strong support of Israel briefly disrupted the show, drawing a pledge from Biden to keep working to stop civilian deaths, particularly of children. But he added, “Israel’s existence is at stake.” Hundreds more protested outside in the drizzling rain, many demanding a cease-fire and waving Palestinian flags.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was up first to warm up the crowd of about 5,000 supporters. Entertainers, too, lined up to make the case for Biden. Lizzo belted out her hit “About Damn Time” and emcee Mindy Kaling joked that it was nice to be in a room with “so many rich people,” adding that she loved that they were supporting a president who openly promises to “raise your taxes.”

Obama laid out the choice for the audience, saying that “at the end of the day, you do have to make a choice about who sees you and cares about you. I’m pretty confident the other guy doesn’t.”

At one point, Colbert said he suspected some Americans had forgotten some of the more concerning aspects of Trump’s presidency, including Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Biden said concerns over the riot reverberated outside the U.S., with foreign leaders questioning the stability of the U.S. democracy. That democracy is still fragile, he said.

The fundraiser had different tiers of access depending on a donor’s generosity. Other participating celebrities included Queen Latifah, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele. Tickets sold for as low as $225.

More money got donors more intimate time with the presidents. A photo with all three was $100,000. A donation of $250,000 earned donors access to one reception, and $500,000 got them into an even more exclusive gathering. First lady Jill Biden and DJ D-Nice hosted an afterparty at the music hall with 500 guests, the campaign said.

Obama and Clinton were helping Biden expand his already significant cash advantage over Trump. Biden had $155 million in cash on hand through the end of February, compared with $37 million for Trump and his Save America political action committee.

AP AUDIO: Biden fundraiser with Obama and Clinton nets a record high $25 million, the campaign says.

AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports a glitzy Biden campaign fundraiser tonight in New York is set to smash a record.

The more than $26 million tally for the New York City event includes money from supporters who handed over cash in the weeks before the fundraiser for a chance to attend. It raised $6 million more than Trump raised during February.

“This historic raise is a show of strong enthusiasm for President Biden and Vice President Harris and a testament to the unprecedented fundraising machine we’ve built,” said campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg. “Unlike our opponent, every dollar we’re raising is going to reach the voters who will decide this election — communicating the president’s historic record, his vision for the future and laying plain the stakes of this election.”

Trump’s campaign is expecting to bring in $33 million at a big fundraiser next week in Palm Beach, Florida, according to a person familiar with the details who spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm a number first reported by the Financial Times.

Trump has kept a low profile in recent weeks, partially because of courtroom appearances for various legal cases , the bills for which he’s paying with funds from donors. His next political rallies are scheduled for Tuesday in Michigan and Wisconsin. Some Republican leaders have become concerned that his campaign doesn’t have the infrastructure ready for a general election battle with Biden.

Trump was in the New York area on Thursday, attending the Long Island wake of a New York City police officer who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Queens.

Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley tried to framed the two candidates’ whereabouts on Thursday as a demonstration of a “contrast in leadership.”

“On the same day President Trump attended the wake of slain New York Police Department officer Jonathan Diller, Joe Biden wines and dines with celebrities at a fundraiser with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton,” he said in a statement.

The facts, said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, show that violent crime rose during Trump’s tenure while Biden’s administration has “done the polar opposite, taking decisive action from the very beginning to fund the police and achieving a historic reduction in crime.”

The setting was an unusual opportunity for the two past presidents to talk frankly about how they did the job, helping explain Biden and his presidency.

As the three men closed out the night by donning Biden’s trademark sunglasses, the president quipped, “Dark Brandon is real,” a nod to a meme featuring Biden with lasers for eyes.

Megerian reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Darlene Superville in Kissimmee, Fla., contributed to this report.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024 .