Basics. Reported Speech.
Reported Speech
Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way to express what someone else has said without directly quoting their exact words. It is commonly used to relay information or recount events in a more natural and conversational manner.
To form reported speech, we usually change the tense of the original statement, and we replace the original speaker's pronouns with the appropriate third-person pronouns. Additionally, we may need to adjust time expressions and other contextual details.
For example, consider the following direct speech:
He said, "I am studying English."
When we convert it to reported speech, we get:
He said (that) he was studying English.
Here's a simple table to illustrate some of the main tense changes:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| Present Simple | Past Simple |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect |
| Past Simple | Past Perfect |
Remember that the reported speech should convey the meaning of the original statement accurately, even if some of the words or tenses are changed. Practice with various examples to get a better understanding of how to form and use reported speech correctly.
Here are four more examples of reported speech:
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Direct speech: She says, "We are going to the cinema tonight." Reported speech: She says (that) they are going to the cinema tonight.
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Direct speech: They told us, "We have finished our project." Reported speech: They told us (that) they had finished their project.
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Direct speech: He said to her, "I will call you later." Reported speech: He told her (that) he would call her later.
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Direct speech: She said, "They were waiting for the bus." Reported speech: She said (that) they had been waiting for the bus.
Verb
A verb is a word that expresses an action, a state, or an occurrence — the engine of every English sentence. Most verbs have five forms: base (go), -s form (goes), past tense (went), past participle (gone), and -ing form (going). The verb be is the major exception with eight forms; modal verbs like can and must have fewer.
Verbs carry tense (when), aspect (how it unfolds), mood (the speaker's attitude), and voice (active vs passive). Mastering them is foundational — virtually every other grammar topic depends on getting verbs right.
Present tense
The present tense in English has four forms: simple present (I work) for habits, general truths, and stative descriptions; present progressive (I am working) for actions happening right now or temporary situations; present perfect (I have worked) for past actions with present relevance; and present perfect progressive (I have been working) for ongoing actions continuing into the present.
The simple/progressive distinction is one of the trickiest jumps for learners — I work in Paris (habitual) and I'm working in Paris (temporary, right now) feel almost identical but signal different things. Pick wrong and your meaning subtly shifts.
Past tense
The past tense is how English talks about events finished before now. It comes in four flavours: simple past (I walked) for completed events, past progressive (I was walking) for actions ongoing at a past time, past perfect (I had walked) for events before another past event, and past perfect progressive (I had been walking) for ongoing events leading up to a past point.
Choosing the right one is what makes past narratives clear instead of murky. When I arrived, she ate dinner is technically grammatical but means something different than had eaten (already done) or was eating (in progress when you arrived).
Future tense
English doesn't have a single dedicated future tense — it has multiple ways to talk about future time. The most common are will + bare infinitive (I'll call you), be going to + infinitive (I'm going to study), the present continuous for arrangements (I'm meeting Sam at six), and the present simple for fixed schedules (The train leaves at 8).
The choice between them isn't free — each carries a different shade of meaning. Will often signals spontaneous decisions or pure prediction; going to signals intentions formed earlier or evidence-based predictions. Picking the right form is one of the trickiest distinctions for B1+ learners.
Simple tense
The simple aspect is the unmarked verb form — no progressive -ing, no have + past participle. I go, I went, I will go are simple; I am going, I have gone, I had gone are not. The simple aspect typically marks a single completed action (Brutus killed Caesar), a repeated/habitual action (I go to school every day), or a permanent state (We live in Dallas).
The simple aspect is the foundation everything else builds on. Once it's automatic, switching into progressive (ongoing) or perfect (completed-relative-to-now) becomes a small adjustment rather than a fresh decision.
Progressive tense
The progressive aspect (also called continuous) marks an action as ongoing at the time of reference, formed with be + present participle (-ing): I am working, She was reading, They will be travelling. It signals temporary or in-progress events — the contrast with the simple aspect (I work = habit; I'm working = right now) is one of the most-used distinctions in English.
Some verbs (stative verbs like know, believe, own, belong) don't normally take the progressive — I'm knowing the answer sounds wrong. Recognising stative vs dynamic verbs is what stops you from over-applying the rule.
Perfect tense
The perfect aspect marks an action as complete relative to a point in time. It's formed with have + past participle: I have eaten (present perfect), She had finished (past perfect), They will have arrived (future perfect). The perfect doesn't just say when — it says the action's completion is relevant to the time of reference.
The trickiest English-specific use is the present perfect: I have lived in Paris connects the past to now (you may still live there), while I lived in Paris doesn't. This connection is one of the biggest jumps for learners whose native language doesn't make the same distinction.
Indirect speech
Indirect speech (also called reported speech) is how you tell someone what another person said without quoting their exact words. "I like apples" → He said that he liked apples. The signature move is backshift: tenses move one step into the past when the reporting verb (said, told, thought) is itself in the past — present becomes past, past becomes past perfect, will becomes would, can becomes could.
Pronouns and time expressions also shift to fit the new perspective: "I'll see you tomorrow" → She said she'd see me the next day. Mastering this is essential for B1+ communication, especially in writing.
English Grammar Basics
The English Grammar Basics tag marks quizzes and explainers covering the foundations of English grammar — nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, tenses, voice, mood, and basic sentence structure.
If you're starting out or rebuilding from scratch, this is the tag to follow: every challenge under it is designed to land the core rules without burying you in exceptions. Get the basics solid here and the more advanced topics — conditionals, reported speech, inversion — stop looking like a wall of new rules and start looking like extensions of what you already know.
A1 | Elementary | Beginners
A1 is the starting level of the CEFR framework — the entry point into English. At A1 you can introduce yourself, ask and answer simple personal questions, recognise common signs and instructions, and have short slow-paced conversations on very familiar topics.
Grammatically, A1 covers the building blocks: present-tense forms of be, have, and do; basic word order; simple questions; and the most common determiners, pronouns, and prepositions. Knowing your level matters — A1 material teaches the foundations every later level builds on, while a B1 textbook will overwhelm you. Start here and progress is fast.
Difficulty: Easy
The Easy difficulty tag marks questions and challenges aimed at beginners — typically A1 or early A2 level. Expect single-rule focus, short sentences, common everyday vocabulary, and one clear correct answer. Distractors usually rule themselves out quickly.
Filter by Easy when you're rebuilding fundamentals, warming up before harder material, or testing whether you've truly internalised a basic rule before moving on. Easy doesn't mean trivial — it means the rule itself is unambiguous and the context doesn't pile on extra complications.