Reported Speech in English: Direct vs Indirect
Reported speech tells what someone said without quoting their exact words: we change pronouns, time/place words, and often the verb tense.
الكلام المنقول يَروي ما قاله شخص ما بدون اقتباس كلماته حرفيًا: نغيّر الضمائر وكلمات الزمان/المكان وغالبًا زمن الفعل.
Direct vs Indirect
- Direct: She said, “I’m tired.” (exact words + quotation marks)
- الكلام المباشر: قالت: «أنا متعبة».
- Indirect (Reported): She said (that) she was tired. (no quotes; pronouns/time/tense may change)
- الكلام المنقول: قالت إنها كانت متعبة. (بدون علامات اقتباس + تغييرات)
Tense Backshift (Sequence of Tenses)
If the reporting verb is in the past (said, told, asked), we usually shift the tense one step back.
إذا كان فعل القول في الماضي (said, told, asked)، غالبًا نُرجِع الزمن خطوة للخلف.
| Direct | → Reported | Example (EN) | Arabic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | Past Simple | “I like tea.” → He said (that) he liked tea. | «أنا أحب الشاي.» → قال إنه أحب الشاي. |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous | “I’m working.” → She said she was working. | «أنا أعمل.» → قالت إنها كانت تعمل. |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect | “I have finished.” → He said he had finished. | «لقد أنهيت.» → قال إنه كان قد أنهى. |
| Past Simple | Past Perfect (or still Past Simple) | “I saw him.” → She said she had seen him. / (saw) | «لقد رأيتُه.» → قالت إنها كانت قد رأته. / (رأته) |
| Past Continuous | Past Perfect Continuous | “I was studying.” → He said he had been studying. | «كنت أذاكر.» → قال إنه كان يذاكر. |
| Will | Would | “I will call.” → She said she would call. | «سوف أتصل.» → قالت إنها ستتصل. |
| Can | Could | “I can help.” → He said he could help. | «أنا أستطيع المساعدة.» → قال إنه يستطيع المساعدة. |
| May | Might | “It may rain.” → She said it might rain. | «قد تمطر.» → قالت إنها قد تمطر. |
| Must (obligation) | Had to | “I must go.” → He said he had to go. | «يجب أن أذهب.» → قال إنه اضطر إلى الذهاب. |
| Could/Should/Would/Might | usually unchanged | “You should rest.” → She said I should rest. | «عليك أن ترتاح.» → قالت إن عليَّ أن أرتاح. |
Backshift: Common Exceptions
- Reporting in present: If we use says/tells, no backshift. → He says he is busy.
- القول بالمضارع: إذا استخدمنا says/tells فلا إرجاع للزمن.
- Still true / general facts: We can keep the tense. → She said the Earth is round.
- حقيقة ما زالت صحيحة: يمكن إبقاء الزمن كما هو.
- Past Perfect usually stays Past Perfect.
- Must (deduction) can stay must: He said it must be late.
Time, Place & Pronoun Changes
| Direct | → Reported | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| now | then / at that time | الآن → حينها |
| today | that day | اليوم → ذلك اليوم |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day | أمس → اليوم السابق |
| tomorrow | the next/following day | غدًا → اليوم التالي |
| last night/week | the previous night/week | ليلة/أسبوع الماضي → السابق |
| next week | the following week | الأسبوع القادم → التالي |
| ago | before | منذ → قبل |
| here | there | هنا → هناك |
| this/these | that/those | هذا/هذه → ذلك/تلك |
| come | go (often) | يأتي → يذهب (غالبًا) |
Reporting Questions (Yes/No & Wh-)
- Yes/No questions → use if/whether + normal word order (no inversion, no question mark).
“Do you like tea?” → He asked if/whether I liked tea. - أسئلة نعم/لا: نستخدم if/whether وترتيب الجملة عادي.
- Wh-questions → keep wh-word + subject + verb (no do/does/did if already have a verb).
“Where are you?” → She asked where I was. - أسئلة Wh-: نحافظ على كلمة السؤال ثم الفاعل ثم الفعل.
Reporting Commands, Requests & Suggestions
- tell/ask + object + to-infinitive: “Close the door.” → He told me to close the door.
- Negative: “Don’t be late.” → She told me not to be late.
- ask (polite request): “Please help me.” → He asked me to help him.
- order/warn/advise/invite: They ordered us to wait. She warned me not to touch it. The doctor advised me to rest.
- suggest: use suggest + -ing / that + clause (no “to”). → She suggested going early. / She suggested that we go early.
- tell/ask + مفعول + to: «أغلق الباب.» → قال لي أن أغلق الباب.
- النفي: «لا تتأخر.» → قالت لي ألا أتأخر.
say vs tell + useful reporting verbs
- say (no object) → She said (that) she was tired. / She said to me that…
- tell (needs object) → She told me (that) she was tired.
- Other verbs: add, admit, agree, claim, deny, explain, promise, refuse, remind, warn, advise, recommend, suggest, insist…
- say بدون مفعول مباشر، وtell يحتاج مفعولًا: told me.
40+ Examples (EN ⇄ AR)
- “I’m tired.” → She said (that) she was tired.
- «أنا متعبة.» → قالت إنها كانت متعبة.
- “I like coffee.” → He said he liked coffee.
- «أحب القهوة.» → قال إنه أحب القهوة.
- “I’ve finished.” → She said she had finished.
- «لقد انتهيت.» → قالت إنها كانت قد انتهت.
- “We were studying.” → They said they had been studying.
- «كنا نذاكر.» → قالوا إنهم كانوا يذاكرون.
- “I saw him.” → She said she had seen him. / (saw)
- «رأيته.» → قالت إنها كانت قد رأته. / (رأته)
- “I will call you.” → He said he would call me.
- «سأتصل بك.» → قال إنه سيتصل بي.
- “I can swim.” → She said she could swim.
- «أستطيع السباحة.» → قالت إنها تستطيع السباحة.
- “It may rain today.” → He said it might rain that day.
- «قد تمطر اليوم.» → قال إنها قد تمطر ذلك اليوم.
- “I must leave now.” → She said she had to leave then.
- «يجب أن أغادر الآن.» → قالت إنها اضطرت للمغادرة حينها.
- “Do you like tea?” → He asked if I liked tea.
- «هل تحب الشاي؟» → سأل إن كنت أحب الشاي.
- “Where are you?” → She asked where I was.
- «أين أنت؟» → سألت أين كنت.
- “What did you buy?” → He asked what I had bought.
- «ماذا اشتريت؟» → سأل ماذا كنت قد اشتريت.
- “Close the window.” → She told me to close the window.
- «أغلق النافذة.» → قالت لي أن أغلق النافذة.
- “Don’t be late.” → He told me not to be late.
- «لا تتأخر.» → قال لي ألا أتأخر.
- “Please wait here.” → They asked us to wait there.
- «من فضلك انتظر هنا.» → طلبوا منا أن ننتظر هناك.
- “Let’s go now.” → She suggested going then. / …suggested that we go.
- «هيا نذهب الآن.» → اقترحت الذهاب حينها. / …اقترحت أن نذهب.
- “I’m here today.” → He said he was there that day.
- «أنا هنا اليوم.» → قال إنه كان هناك ذلك اليوم.
- “These are my keys.” → She said those were her keys.
- «هذه مفاتيحي.» → قالت إن تلك مفاتيحها.
- “I came yesterday.” → He said he had come the day before.
- «أتيت أمس.» → قال إنه كان قد أتى في اليوم السابق.
- “The Earth is round.” → She said the Earth is round. (still true)
- «الأرض كروية.» → قالت إن الأرض كروية. (حقيقة ثابتة)
Show 20 more
- “I’m studying English.” → He said he was studying English.
- «أدرس الإنجليزية.» → قال إنه كان يدرس الإنجليزية.
- “We’ll travel next week.” → They said they would travel the following week.
- «سنُسافر الأسبوع القادم.» → قالوا إنهم سيسافرون الأسبوع التالي.
- “Can you help me?” → She asked if I could help her.
- «هل تستطيع مساعدتي؟» → سألت إن كنت أستطيع مساعدتها.
- “Why are you late?” → He asked why I was late.
- «لماذا تأخرت؟» → سأل لماذا كنت متأخرًا.
- “Open your books.” → The teacher told us to open our books.
- «افتحوا كتبكم.» → قال لنا المعلم أن نفتح كتبنا.
- “Don’t touch that.” → She warned me not to touch it.
- «لا تلمس ذلك.» → حذّرتني ألا ألمسه.
- “Please sit down.” → He invited us to sit down.
- «تفضلوا بالجلوس.» → دعانا للجلوس.
- “I’ll help you.” → She promised to help me.
- «سأساعدك.» → وعدت بمساعدتي.
- “I didn’t do it.” → He denied doing it.
- «لم أفعل ذلك.» → أنكر أنه فعل ذلك.
- “Let’s not argue.” → She suggested not arguing.
- «دعونا لا نجادل.» → اقترحت عدم الجدال.
- “You shouldn’t smoke.” → The doctor advised me to stop smoking.
- «لا ينبغي أن تُدخّن.» → نصحني الطبيب بالإقلاع.
- “Be quiet!” → The guard ordered us to be quiet.
- «اصمتوا!» → أمرنا الحارس بالصمت.
- “Call me tonight.” → He reminded me to call him that night.
- «اتصل بي الليلة.» → ذكرني أن أتصل به تلك الليلة.
- “Come here.” → She told me to go there.
- «تعال هنا.» → قالت لي أن أذهب هناك.
- “We are meeting today.” → He said they were meeting that day.
- «سنلتقي اليوم.» → قال إنهم سيلتقون ذلك اليوم.
- “I met him two days ago.” → She said she had met him two days before.
- «قابلته منذ يومين.» → قالت إنها كانت قد قابلته قبل يومين.
- “This is important.” → He said that was important.
- «هذا مهم.» → قال إن ذلك مهم.
- “These are ours.” → They said those were theirs.
- «هذه لنا.» → قالوا إن تلك لهم.
- “I’m leaving tomorrow.” → She said she was leaving the next day.
- «سأغادر غدًا.» → قالت إنها ستغادر في اليوم التالي.
- “It must be late.” (deduction) → He said it must be late.
- «لا بد أنه قد تأخر الوقت.» → قال إنه لا بد أن الوقت متأخر.
Common Mistakes
- ✗ He asked where do I live. → ✓ He asked where I lived. (no inversion)
- ✗ She told that she was busy. → ✓ She said (that)… / She told me (that)…
- ✗ He said me… → ✓ He told me… / He said to me…
- ✗ “Don’t be late.” → He told to not be late. → ✓ He told me not to be late.
- لا نعكس ترتيب الفاعل والفعل في الأسئلة المنقولة.
- tell يحتاج مفعولًا: told me، أما say فلا.
Exercises
1) Change to reported speech (statements)
- She said, “I’m hungry now.”
- He said, “We have finished.”
- They said, “We saw him yesterday.”
2) Report the questions
- “Do you live here?” she asked me.
- “Where did you go?” he asked.
3) Report the commands/requests
- “Please sit down,” the teacher said to us.
- “Don’t touch that,” she said.
4) Choose the correct option
- He said (that) he (is / was) busy.
- She asked me (to not / not to) be late.
- He asked (if / do) I liked coffee.
Answers
1) She said (that) she was hungry then. • He said (that) they had finished. • They said (that) they had seen him the day before.
2) She asked me if I lived there. • He asked where I had gone.
3) The teacher told us to sit down. • She told me not to touch that.
4) was • not to • if