Reported Speech – Don't Lose Sight of It

We always work on the twelve tenses, but there are a few important grammar topics that we sometimes lose sight of. Things like indirect questionsobjects, and reported speech can be tricky for students, and they’re used all the time!

Let’s take the example of reported speech.
 
Well, how often do we really use it?
 
Actually, very often! Students love to use their English to tell stories and talk about what’s happened to them, so they’ll need to know how to talk about what people have said to them.

Uses

We use reported speech to:
  • Tell someone what another person said earlier
  • Tell stories
  • Share information that we heard on the news or in a conversation
  • Resolve misunderstandings by reviewing previous conversations
  • Explain situations and feelings based on what has been discussed

Importance

We use reported speech constantly.

It comes up nearly every time we tell a story or talk about the past, and it’s also related to many other topics we frequently cover in class. It’s a perfect companion to lessons about:

Lesson Ideas

Reported speech is a useful and interesting topic, plus it can be fun and engaging for students!

Think about using role plays, picture descriptions, and reading and discussing stories or articles with your class.
 
Remember that reported speech has some tricky points, but you can get our comprehensive workbook to guide you and your students through!