Ahsan said to me, "Ali is reading a novel."

When converting direct speech to indirect speech, the reporting verb 'said to' changes to 'told,' and the present continuous tense 'is reading' changes to the past continuous tense 'was reading.'

If the reporting verb is in past tense, the verb in reported speech usually:

When the reporting verb is in the past tense, the verb in the reported speech typically shifts to the past tense as well. This is known as backshifting.

The boy said, "I live near the mosque."

The present simple tense 'live' in direct speech changes to the past simple tense 'lived' in indirect speech when the reporting verb is in the past tense.

Sana says, "I am making tea."

When the reporting verb 'says' is in the present tense, the tense in the reported speech remains unchanged.

He said, "They play football every day."

The simple present tense 'play' in direct speech changes to the simple past tense 'played' in indirect speech.

Mother said, "I cooked biryani today."

The simple past tense 'cooked' in direct speech changes to the past perfect tense 'had cooked' in indirect speech. 'Today' changes to 'that day.'

He asked, "Are you free now?"

The present simple tense 'are' in direct speech changes to the past simple tense 'was' in indirect speech. 'Now' changes to 'then.'

The teacher asked, "Did you complete the assignment?"

The simple past tense 'did you complete' in direct speech changes to the past perfect tense 'had completed' in indirect speech.

She asked him, "Where do you live?"

The present simple tense 'do you live' in direct speech changes to the past simple tense 'lived' in indirect speech.

The officer said, "Speak clearly."

The imperative mood 'Speak clearly' in direct speech is reported using 'ordered' followed by the infinitive form of the verb.

Father said to me, "Be honest in life."

The imperative mood 'Be honest' in direct speech is reported using 'told me to' followed by the base form of the verb.

She said, "Don’t open the door."

The negative imperative 'Don’t open' in direct speech is reported using 'told me not to' followed by the base form of the verb.

He shouted, "Get out now!"

The imperative mood 'Get out now' in direct speech is reported using 'ordered to' followed by the base form of the verb. 'Now' is often replaced with 'immediately' in indirect speech.

They said, "Alas! We lost the match."

Exclamations in direct speech are reported using verbs like 'exclaimed' followed by the content of the exclamation, often with an indication of the emotion involved.

She said, "What a lovely gift!"

Exclamations in direct speech are reported using verbs like 'exclaimed' followed by the content of the exclamation, often with an indication of the emotion involved.

Ali said, "I have bought a car."

The present perfect tense 'have bought' in direct speech changes to the past perfect tense 'had bought' in indirect speech.

The man said, "It will rain tomorrow."

The future simple tense 'will rain' in direct speech changes to the conditional 'would rain' in indirect speech. 'Tomorrow' changes to 'the next day.'

She said, "I was sleeping."

The past continuous tense 'was sleeping' in direct speech changes to the past perfect continuous tense 'had been sleeping' in indirect speech.

He said, "We were watching a movie."

The past continuous tense 'were watching' in direct speech changes to the past perfect continuous tense 'had been watching' in indirect speech.

I said, "You were helping me."

The past continuous tense 'were helping' in direct speech changes to the past perfect continuous tense 'had been helping' in indirect speech.

The girl said, "Let’s visit the zoo."

Suggestions using 'Let’s' in direct speech are reported using 'suggested' followed by the gerund form of the verb.

She said to him, "Let him speak."

The imperative mood 'Let him speak' in direct speech is reported using 'told him to let him' followed by the base form of the verb.

He said, "Let me go now."

Requests using 'Let me' in direct speech are reported using 'requested to' followed by the base form of the verb.

He said, "May you succeed!"

Wishes in direct speech are reported using 'wished' followed by 'might' and the base form of the verb.

She said, "You must help him."

The modal verb 'must' in direct speech changes to 'had to' in indirect speech when reporting past statements.

The boy said, "I can climb that tree."

The modal verb 'can' in direct speech changes to 'could' in indirect speech.

He said, "I may go to Karachi."

The modal verb 'may' in direct speech changes to 'might' in indirect speech.

I said to him, "She loves me."

The present simple tense 'loves' in direct speech changes to the past simple tense 'loved' in indirect speech.

He said to me, "I respect your opinion."

The present simple tense 'respect' in direct speech changes to the past simple tense 'respected' in indirect speech.

She said to us, "You should do your work."

The modal verb 'should' in direct speech remains 'should' in indirect speech.

She said to me, "I trust you."

The present simple tense 'trust' in direct speech changes to the past simple tense 'trusted' in indirect speech.

He said, "We will win the match."

The future simple tense 'will win' in direct speech changes to the conditional 'would win' in indirect speech. The pronoun 'we' changes to 'they' to match the context.

I said, "They had left already."

The past perfect tense 'had left' in direct speech remains 'had left' in indirect speech.

The child said, "I want a toy."

The present simple tense 'want' in direct speech changes to the past simple tense 'wanted' in indirect speech.

He said, "I do my work honestly."

The present simple tense 'do' in direct speech changes to the past simple tense 'did' in indirect speech.

Sara said, "My mother is a doctor."

The present simple tense 'is' in direct speech changes to the past simple tense 'was' in indirect speech.

I asked her, "Do you know this man?"

The present simple tense 'do you know' in direct speech changes to the past simple tense 'knew' in indirect speech. The demonstrative 'this' changes to 'that.'

They said to me, "How did you do that?"

The simple past tense 'did you do' in direct speech changes to the past perfect tense 'had done' in indirect speech.

She said to me, "Be patient!"

The imperative mood 'Be patient' in direct speech is reported using 'advised me to' followed by the base form of the verb.

The coach said, "Run faster!"

The imperative mood 'Run faster' in direct speech is reported using 'ordered to' followed by the base form of the verb.

He said, "Let us start early."

Suggestions using 'Let us' in direct speech are reported using 'suggested that we should' followed by the base form of the verb.

She said to me, "Let him stay here."

Requests using 'Let him' in direct speech are reported using 'requested to let him' followed by the base form of the verb.

My brother said, "I saw you yesterday."

The simple past tense 'saw' in direct speech changes to the past perfect tense 'had seen' in indirect speech. 'Yesterday' changes to 'the previous day.'

He said to me, "Your idea is great."

The present simple tense 'is' in direct speech changes to the past simple tense 'was' in indirect speech.

She said, "This food is delicious!"

Exclamations in direct speech are reported using verbs like 'exclaimed' followed by the content of the exclamation. The tense changes from present to past, and 'this' changes to 'that.'

The teacher said, "The world is round."

When reporting universal truths or facts, the tense can remain unchanged. Thus, 'is' remains 'is' in indirect speech.

I said, "I can speak French."

The modal verb 'can' in direct speech changes to 'could' in indirect speech.

He said, "You should try harder."

The modal verb 'should' in direct speech remains 'should' in indirect speech. The pronoun 'you' changes to 'I' to match the context.

She said, "I have never seen that movie."

The present perfect tense 'have never seen' in direct speech changes to the past perfect tense 'had never seen' in indirect speech.

They said, "We must arrive on time."

The modal verb 'must' in direct speech changes to 'had to' in indirect speech when reporting past statements.