Grammar: 🚀 Advanced Grammar: 💬➡️🗣️ Reported Speech (B2) - Lesson 1: Reported Statements (Tense shifts, pronoun/adverbial changes - comprehensive review)

🚀 Lesson 1: Reported Statements (Comprehensive Review)

Welcome to our B2 module on Advanced Grammar! We begin with Reported Speech¹ (also called Indirect Speech). This is the skill of telling someone what another person said, without using their exact words. While Direct Speech² uses quotation marks ("I am happy"), reported speech does not. Mastering this requires three key types of changes.

1. The Tense "Backshift"

When our reporting verb is in the past (e.g., "he said," "she told me"), the verb tense in the original statement usually takes one step back into the past. This is called the backshift³.

Tense Change Chart

Direct Speech Tense	Reported Speech Tense
Present Simple ("I work")	Past Simple ("He said he worked")
Present Continuous ("I am working")	Past Continuous ("He said he was working")
Past Simple ("I worked")	Past Perfect ("He said he had worked")
Present Perfect ("I have worked")
will ("I will work")	would ("He said he would work")
can ("I can work")	could ("He said he could work")

2. Pronoun and Adverbial Changes

Pronouns and words describing time and place (adverbials⁴) often need to change logically based on the new perspective.

Direct: My friend said, "I will meet you here in Battambang tomorrow."

Reported: My friend said that he would meet me there in Battambang the next day.

Exception: No Backshift for Timeless Truths

If the original statement is a general fact or a timeless truth⁵, we usually do not backshift the tense, because the fact is still true.

Direct: The teacher said, "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius."
Reported: The teacher said that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

🧠 Practice Quiz: Report the Statement

Convert these direct statements into reported speech.

1. Direct: "I am studying now."
   → He said that he _______ studying _______.
   Answer: was / then
2. Direct: "We will visit you tomorrow."
   → They said they would visit us _______.
   Answer: the next day (or the following day)
3. Direct: "I have finished my project."
   → She told me that she _______ her project.
   Answer: had finished
4. Direct: "I went to the cinema yesterday."
   → He said that he _______ to the cinema _______.
   Answer: had gone / the day before
5. Direct: "My car isn't working."
   → She said that her car _______ working.
   Answer: wasn't

📝 Homework: What Did They Say?

Imagine your friend said these things to you yesterday. Report them to another friend today.

1. "I am really enjoying my trip here."
   Answer: She said that she was really enjoying her trip there.
2. "I bought this beautiful krama yesterday."
   Answer: He said that he had bought that beautiful krama the day before.
3. "I will call you tomorrow."
   Answer: She said that she would call me the next day.

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Reported Speech: (Noun Phrase) - ការនិយាយបន្ត (kaa ni'yéay bân'tɔɔ) - The act of reporting what someone else said, without using their exact words. Also called Indirect Speech. ↩
2. Direct Speech: (Noun Phrase) - ការនិយាយផ្ទាល់ (kaa ni'yéay phtŏəl) - The exact words someone said, written inside quotation marks ("..."). ↩
3. Backshift: (Verb) - ប្តូរថយក្រោយ (p'dao thoy'kraeuy) - To change a verb tense to a "more past" tense, which is often done in reported speech. ↩
4. Adverbial: (Noun) - កិរិយាវិសេស (kĕ'rĭ'yaa'vĭ'seh) - A word or phrase that functions as an adverb, describing time, place, or manner. ↩
5. Timeless Truth: (Noun Phrase) - ការពិតគ្រប់សម័យកាល (kaa'pĭt' krŏb sâ'măy'kal) - A statement that is always true, regardless of time (e.g., scientific facts). ↩