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Reference Changes in Reported Speech 
So far, we’ve focused on verb tense changes in reported speech. Ask the students if 
they’ve noticed other changes that occur. Show them PP5 and ask them what other 
changes they see. They should notice that pronouns change. In order to keep the original 
meaning, we often need to change pronouns when reporting what someone has said.
PP5 
Quoted:
“I feel hungry,” Mary said 
Reported:
Mary said she felt hungry. 
Quoted: 
Professor: “I’ve looked at the results of your work this year and you’ll be 
pleased to know that I’m recommending you for a scholarship next year.” 
Reported:
The professor told me that she had looked at the results of my work this 
year and that I’d be pleased to know that she was recommending me for a 
scholarship next year. 

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Look at the following examples to see what happens when you forget to change the 
pronouns.
 PP6 
Examples 
“You won the scholarship!” Mr. Chin told 
Anna. 
Mr. Chin told Anna that you had won the 
scholarship. 
Mr. Chin told Anna that she had won the 
scholarship. 
Implied Meaning 
Anna won a scholarship. 
You won a scholarship. 
Anna won a scholarship.
Words of Time and Place 
In reported speech, changes are also necessary for certain words that refer to time and 
place. Look at the following example. 
PP7 Time and Place References 
Imagine you went to a restaurant on Monday with your friend, Peter. 
While at the restaurant, he said to you, “This is a great restaurant. I’m going to eat here 
again tomorrow.” 
Later on that same Monday, you tell a friend: 
Peter said that was a great restaurant and that he was going to eat there tomorrow. 
What changes have been made to the original quote? 
Notes: 
Ask the students to tell you what changes have been made to the original quote. They 
should notice three: 
1. This becomes that. You are no longer in the restaurant, so you cannot use this 
to refer to the restaurant. 
2. Verb tense change – is becomes was. 
3. Here becomes there. Again, you are no longer at the restaurant, so you need to 
change here. 
Continuing with our example… 

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PP8 
Using the same example: 
“This is a great restaurant. I’m going to eat here again tomorrow.” 
Two weeks later, you tell a friend: 
Peter said that was a great restaurant and that he was going to eat there the following day. 
What changes have been made to the original quote? 
Note: The students should notice that in addition to the previous changes, tomorrow has 
been changed to the following day.