Easy guide for Reported Speech

These three verbs can be confusing, but the rules are actually simple.

1. SAY

Use say + words / sentence

We use say when we only report the words.

• She said she was tired.
• He said he didn’t understand.

❌ We cannot use say + a person.
(Not: She said me…)

✔️ Use say to + person

• She said to me that she was tired.

2. TELL

Use tell + a person

We use tell when we say who we are talking to.

• She told me she was tired.
• They told us they were not ready.
• My friend told her the news.

✔️ Always: tell + someone + something

3. SPEAK

Use speak to talk about languages or formal communication

We don’t usually use speak to report exact words.

• She speaks French.
• He spoke to the class yesterday.

🌟 Not for reported speech:
❌ She spoke she was tired. (incorrect)

4. TALK

Use talk for general conversations

We use talk when two or more people have a conversation.

• We talked about our weekend.
• She talked to her teacher after class.
• They talked about the exam.

➡️ talk to / talk with / talk about
All are common in everyday English.

❌ Not usually used to report exact words:
She talked she was tired. (incorrect)

5. Quick Summary

Verb	Use	Example
say	the message (no person)	She said she was late.
say to	person + message	She said to me that she was late.
tell	always needs a person	She told me she was late.
speak	languages / formal talk	She speaks French.
talk	general conversation	They talked about the test.

Let’s practice!

Practice 1

Practice 2

Speaking

Practice 1