Direct and Reported Speech

The direct and indirect style
When we want to communicate or report what someone else has said, there are two ways to do it: using the direct style or the indirect style.
Direct Speech

When we want to report exactly what another person has said, we use the direct style. With this style what the person has said is placed in quotation marks ("...") and must be word for word.

Examples:

“I am going to London next week,” she said. (“Voy a Londres la semana que viene,” ella dijo.)

“Do you have a pen I could borrow,” he asked. (“¿Tienes un bolígrafo que puedas prestarme?,” él preguntó.)

Alice said, “I love to dance.” (Alice dijo, “Me encanta bailar.”)

Chris asked, “Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?” (Chris preguntó, “¿Te gustaría cenar conmigo mañana por la noche?”)

Reported Speech (The indirect style)

Indirect style, unlike direct style, does not use quotation marks and does not need to be word for word. In general, when indirect style is used, the verb tense changes. Here is an explanation of the changes in verbal tenses.
Sometimes "that" is used in affirmative and negative sentences to introduce what the other person has said. On the other hand, in the interrogative sentences can be used "if" or "whether".
Note: Also note that time expressions change in the indirect style. Look at the time changes in the examples below and then, you will find a table with more explanations of the time changes in the indirect style.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present Simple	Past Simple
“He is American,” she said.	She said he was American.
“I am happy to see you,” Mary said.	Mary said that she was happy to see me.
He asked, “Are you busy tonight?”	He asked me if I was busy that night.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
“Dan is living in San Francisco,” she said.	She said Dan was living in San Francisco.
He said, “I’m making dinner.”	He told me that he was making dinner.
“Why are you working so hard?” they asked.	They asked me why I was working so hard.
Past Simple	Past Perfect Simple
“We went to the movies last night,” he said.	He told me they had gone to the movies the night before.
Greg said, “I didn’t go to work yesterday.”	Greg said that he hadn’t goneto work the day before.
“Did you buy a new car?” she asked.	She asked me if I had bought a new car.
Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
“I was working late last night,” Vicki said.	Vicki told me she’d been working late the night before.
They said, “we weren’t waiting long.”	They said that they hadn’t been waiting long.
He asked, “were you sleepingwhen I called?”	He asked if I’d been sleepingwhen he called.
Present Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple
Heather said, “I’ve already eaten.”	Heather told me that she’dalready eaten.
“We haven’t been to China,” they said.	They said they hadn’t been to China.
“Have you worked here before?” I asked.	I asked her whether she’d worked there before.
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
“I’ve been studying English for two years,” he said.	He said he’d been studyingEnglish for two years.
Steve said, “we’ve been datingfor over a year now.”	Steve told me that they’d been dating for over a year.
“Have you been waitinglong?” they asked.	They asked whether I’d been waiting long.
Past Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple (NO CHANGE)
“I’d been to Chicago before for work,” he said.	He said that he’d been to Chicago before for work.
Past Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous (NO CHANGE)
She said, “I’d been dancingfor years before the accident.”	She said she’d been dancingfor years before the accident.

Nota: Cuando hablamos de algo que no ha cambiado (que sigue siendo cierto) o de algo en el futuro, no es necesario cambiar el tiempo verbal.

Ejemplos:

“I’m 30 years old,” she said. → She said she is 30 years old.

Dave said, “Kelly is sick.” → Dave said Kelly is sick.

“We are going to Tokyo next week,” they said. → They said they are going to Tokyo next week.

“I’ll cut my hair tomorrow,” Nina said. → Nina said she is cutting her hair tomorrow.

Modal Verbs (The modal verbs)

The verbal time changes in the indirect style also with some of the modal verbs.
Note: With "would", "could", "should", "might" and "ought to", the time does not change.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Will	Would
“I’ll go to the movies tomorrow,” John said.	John said he would go to the movies the next day.
“Will you help me move?” she asked.	She asked me if I would helpher move.
Can	Could
Debra said, “Allen can worktomorrow.”	Debra said Allen could workthe next day.
“Can you open the window, please?”, he asked.	He asked me if I could openthe window.
Must	Had to
“You must wear your seat belt,” mom said.	My mom said I had to wear my seat belt.
She said, “You must worktomorrow.”	She said I had to work the next day.
Shall	Should
“Shall we go to the beach today?” Tom asked.	Tom asked if we should go to the beach that day.
“What shall we do tonight?” she asked.	She asked me what we should do that night.
May	Might/Could
Jane said, “I may not be in class tomorrow.”	Jane said she might not be in class the next day.
“May I use the bathroom, please?”, the boy asked.	The boy asked if he could usethe bathroom.

Note: Below you have a table where you can observe the changes that the expressions of time undergo when we use the indirect style.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
today	that day
tonight	that night
this week/month/year	that week/month/year
tomorrow	the next day
next week/month/year	the following week/month/year
yesterday	the day before or the previous day
last week/month/year	the week/month year before or the previous week/month/year
now	then/at that moment
Otros cambios
here	there