Reported Speech
If someone tells you something and you want to tell another person, you can use 'direct speech' or 'reported speech'.
If someone tells you something and you want to tell another person, you can use 'direct speech' or 'reported speech'.
In reported speech, we usually put the verb in the reported clause back one tense:
| Direct speech | Reported speech | |
| Present "I'm from Spain." Present Perfect "I've been married for years." Past "I stole it." |  | Past She told me that she was from Spain. Past Perfect He said he had been married for years. Past Perfect She admitted she had stolen it. |
In direct speech we use inverted commas to show the exact words the person said.
For example:
For example:
"I'm from Spain."
In reported speech, we don't use inverted commas.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish
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