Micro-listening
Who Said What? Passing On a Message
What are quoted and reported speech?
Quoted speech repeats exact words, while reported speech gives the speaker's message in your own sentence. Use quotation marks for exact wording: The guide said, "The room is upstairs." Report a message when the wording is less important, but check the people, time, sentence structure and level of certainty.
Key points
- Quotations preserve the speaker's exact wording.
- Reported speech changes wording but keeps meaning.
- Check pronouns so people remain clear.
- Reported questions use statement word order.
Try what you have learned
Listen to a recording, type what you hear, and check your answer.
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At a glance
| Form | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Quoted speech | Repeats the speaker's exact words | Nina said, "The key is here." |
| Reported speech | Presents the speaker's message in your sentence | Nina said that the key was there. |
| Reported question | Uses statement word order after if or whether | He asked whether the door was locked. |
| Reported request | Uses asked someone to do something | She asked me to wait outside. |
The full explanation
Quoted speech repeats someone's exact words. Reported speech puts their message into your own sentence. Both can describe the same conversation.
The volunteer said, "Your lamp needs a new switch."
Why it works: Quotation marks show the volunteer's exact words.
2 more examples
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The volunteer said that my lamp needed a new switch.
The report changes the point of view from your to my.
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I asked whether the repair was expensive.
A reported yes-or-no question uses whether and statement word order.
Read the full guide
Try the listening exercise
Choose words or meaning
Imagine that a volunteer examines your lamp and says, "The switch is broken." At home, your partner mainly needs the result. You can report that the volunteer said the switch was broken. Use a quotation when the particular words matter, perhaps because someone wants to check a promise. A report can be shorter, but it must keep the original meaning.
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The volunteer said, "I cannot fix it tonight."
Why it works: These are presented as exact words.
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The volunteer said that the repair could not be done that evening.
Why it works: The wording changes while the central message stays.
Your turn
You need to record the volunteer's exact promise. Which approach fits?
Answer: Quote the words the volunteer used.
Show the answer
Answer: Quote the words the volunteer used.
A quotation preserves the wording of the promise.
Keep speaker and listener clear
Before changing pronouns, work out who each word describes. If a volunteer tells you, "I can repair your lamp," I means the volunteer and your means you. Your report might use she and my. Names are useful when two people could be she or he. Do not replace pronouns from a fixed list without checking the people.
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Rita told Ben that Rita's tools were in the cupboard.
Why it works: Repeating Rita's name makes ownership clear.
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Rita told me that she could repair my lamp.
Why it works: She identifies Rita; my identifies the person reporting.
You can practise this again in Rule out and Who booked the room? A name and I or a name and me.
Your turn
Ben tells you, "I have your receipt." Which report preserves the people?
Answer: Ben said that he had my receipt.
Show the answer
Answer: Ben said that he had my receipt.
I refers to Ben, while your refers to you, the reporter.
Make the timing easy to follow
After said or told, English often moves the message's tense back: is becomes was, can becomes could, and will becomes would. An earlier past action can use had plus the past participle. Time words also need a check. If you report Monday's tomorrow on Wednesday, say Tuesday or the next day. A named day can make practical arrangements clearer.
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On Monday, Jo said that she would collect the lamp on Tuesday.
Why it works: Would reports will; Tuesday gives a clear collection day.
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Jo said that she had ordered the switch the day before.
Why it works: Had ordered places the order before Jo's conversation.
Your turn
On Wednesday, you report Monday's message: "I will come tomorrow." Which day was intended?
Answer: Tuesday
Show the answer
Answer: Tuesday
Tomorrow in the original Monday conversation means Tuesday.
Recognise information that still applies
Learn the usual tense changes first, then check whether the information still applies. You can keep a present tense for a current fact, such as the café's regular location. With a present reporting verb like says, there is usually no move into the past. Also, a past form after said does not automatically tell us that a fact has changed.
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The organiser said that the café meets every Saturday.
Why it works: The present tense presents the schedule as current.
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The organiser says that volunteers bring their own tools.
Why it works: A present reporting verb introduces a present routine.
Your turn
The Saturday schedule is still correct. Which report clearly presents it as current?
Answer: She said that the café meets on Saturdays.
Show the answer
Answer: She said that the café meets on Saturdays.
Meets describes the schedule that still applies.
Change the structure for questions and requests
When reporting a question, put the subject before the verb: where the box was, rather than where was the box. For a yes-or-no question, use if or whether. Requests need another pattern: asked someone to do something. Told someone to do something often presents the message as an instruction. Choose a reporting verb that fits what the speaker was doing.
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A customer asked where the queue started.
Why it works: The reported question has statement word order.
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The volunteer asked me to unplug the lamp.
Why it works: Asked me to reports a request.
Your turn
Report the question "Is the lamp ready?"
Answer: He asked if the lamp was ready.
Show the answer
Answer: He asked if the lamp was ready.
If introduces the question, and the subject comes before was.
Listen for quiet words and contractions
In conversation, small words such as that and had may be quiet. That can also be absent after said: both versions are grammatical. Listen for contractions too. In she'd finished, she'd means she had; in she'd return, it means she would. For dictation, recover the words you hear. For recall practice afterwards, cover the transcript and explain the message in your own words.
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She said she'd finished the repair.
Why it works: Before finished, she'd means she had.
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She said she'd return after lunch.
Why it works: Before return, she'd means she would.
Your turn
What does she'd mean in "She said she'd brought a spare bulb"?
Answer: She had
Show the answer
Answer: She had
Had brought describes an action completed before the conversation.
Write a clear update without changing the message
In a written update, name the source and include what the reader needs to do next. Use said with a statement, or told with a listener: told me, told us, told Anna. Put quotation marks around exact words only. Keep uncertainty too: might be ready is not a promise. After writing, check the people, the timing and how certain the original speaker sounded.
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The volunteer told us that the part might arrive on Friday.
Why it works: Told has an object, and might preserves uncertainty.
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The volunteer said that we should call before travelling.
Why it works: Said introduces useful advice without naming a listener.
Your turn
The volunteer says, "The part might arrive on Friday." Which update keeps the uncertainty?
Answer: She said that the part might arrive on Friday.
Show the answer
Answer: She said that the part might arrive on Friday.
Might keeps the arrival possible rather than certain.
Common mistakes
What learners often say, what to say instead, and why.
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Not this:
The guide said me that the room was open.Say: The guide told me that the room was open.
Told takes a listener directly; said needs that or to me.
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Not this:
She asked where was the meeting.Say: She asked where the meeting was.
Reported questions use statement word order.
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Not this:
The receptionist asked me bring my passport.Say: The receptionist asked me to bring my passport.
Reported requests use asked someone to do something.
Before you go
Remember this
Choose a quotation for exact words and a report for the message. Check people, time, tense and sentence structure. Keep the speaker's level of certainty. After dictation, practise recalling the meaning in a new sentence.
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She said that the switch was broken.
Said introduces a reported statement. Was reports the earlier description of the switch.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The final t or d is barely said before the next consonant.
- A small word like this is said quickly and softly, not as written.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- A small word like this is said quickly and softly, not as written.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The final t or d is barely said before the next consonant.
Listening 2 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
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Read the transcript
He asked me to keep the receipt.
Asked me to plus a verb reports a request. The listener is named directly after asked.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- A small word like this is said quickly and softly, not as written.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- A small word like this is said quickly and softly, not as written.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- A small word like this is said quickly and softly, not as written.
Try a longer clip. Listen once, then replay the part you missed.
Listening 3 of 4
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Read the transcript
Rita said she'd found a spare switch in the cupboard. She asked whether I wanted her to fit it while I waited.
She'd found means she had found. Whether introduces a reported yes-or-no question with statement word order.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
This clip is longer. Follow the instruction above the answer field.
Listening 4 of 4
Listen, then type the missing words. The rest of the text is already there.
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Read the transcript
I've just spoken to Rita at the repair café. She said that our lamp was ready and asked us to collect it before four. I told her that you had the collection card. She explained that the number on it helps the volunteers find the right lamp. Could you bring the card when you meet me outside the café?
The message combines reported statements and a reported request. Helps stays in the present because it explains the card's continuing purpose. The final sentence is a direct request to the listener.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
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Save my progressYour turn
Say it your way
Speak for 20-30 seconds. Imagine a neighbour told you that the lift was broken and asked you to use the stairs. Pass the message to your housemate and say who gave you the information.
Use: who Said What? Passing On a Message
You could start with “Our neighbour told me that…”
Think for ten seconds, then answer out loud for as long as the task above asks, without looking at the lesson. Nothing is sent unless you ask for feedback.
Shadow
Say it along with the speaker
She said that the switch was broken.
Play the line slowly, then speak at the same time as the speaker. Copy the rhythm, not just the words.
Write
Put it in your own words
- I used “who Said What? Passing On a Message”.
- It is about my life, not the lesson’s example.
- I read it once aloud to check it sounds right.
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Questions about "Who Said What? Passing On a Message"
Do I always need that after said?
No. In reported statements, that is often optional after said. Including it can help readers follow a longer sentence. In dictation, write it if it is spoken; do not add it simply because both versions are grammatical.
Maya said she needed a receipt.
Maya said that she needed a receipt.
Can I keep today when I report a message?
Yes, if today still refers to the same day. When you report on another day, use that day or name the original day. The aim is to identify the correct time, so a date or weekday can be clearer than a relative expression.
I spoke to the organiser ten minutes ago, and she said the room is available today.
On Thursday, I explained that the room had been available on Tuesday.
Why is she told me correct but she said me incorrect?
Told normally takes a listener directly in this pattern: told me that something happened. Said does not take that direct object. You can use said that, or said to me, depending on the sentence.
She told me that the entrance was locked.
She said to me, "Use the other entrance."
What should I do if I remember the message but not the exact words?
Use reported speech and avoid quotation marks. Keep the meaning, including words that show uncertainty. If you are also unsure about the message, say that you are unsure instead of presenting your memory as certain.
I think the assistant said that the shop closed at six.
The assistant said that the order might be late.
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