24 Direct and Indirect Speech Examples with Tenses
Tense | Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
Present Simple | I like ice cream. | He said that he liked ice cream. |
Present Continuous |
I am living in Paris. | He said that he was living in Paris. |
Past Simple | I bought a car. | He said he bought a car. |
Past Continuous |
I was walking along the Street. | He said he had been walking along the Street. |
Present Perfect | I haven’t seen Mary. | He said he hadn’t seen Mary. |
Past Perfect | I had taken Spanish lessons before. | He said he had taken Spanish lessons before. |
Will | I’II see you later. | He said he would see me later. |
Would | I would help, but… | He said he would help but… |
Can | I can speak perfect Spanish. | He said he could speak perfect Spanish. |
Could | I could swim when I was four. | He said he could swim when he was four. |
Should | I should call my mother | He said he should call her mother. |
Might | I might be late. | He said he might be late. |