DSE English: Reported Speech (Tutor Prep Guide) — backshift, pronouns, questions and commands

2026-11-05

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary English

The lesson fixes the common pattern where a student changes the verb but forgets the pronoun and the time word, leaving two errors in one sentence.

Objectives — Students can state the backshift rule and demonstrate three tense pairs within fifteen seconds; rewrite a short quotation with all three changes correct; and explain why facts and past perfect forms do not shift again.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Names of three tenses	Name the tense of I go, I went and I have gone	All three correct; fix gaps before moving on
Pronouns and possessives	Rewrite my book so that she owns it	Answers her book
Quotation marks and commas	Write one sentence containing a quotation	Marks come in pairs, comma before the quote

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
5 minutes	Diagnostic opener	Ask the class to rewrite She said, I am tired. unaided	Write one sentence without checking notes
8 minutes	Backshift table	Draw three columns on the board and drill six pairs	Say the six pairs aloud and copy the table
12 minutes	Three-step model	Model tense, pronoun and time word, covering each next step	Copy two sentences and name each change
10 minutes	Questions and commands	Model whether and if, then told somebody to	Rewrite three sentences, two questions and one command
5 minutes	Trap check	Write She said me that deliberately and ask what is wrong	Circle the error and give the correct form
5 minutes	Exit check	Hand out three items and mark them immediately	Complete independently without discussion

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Why the verb moves back

Put two sentences side by side: She said, “I am tired.” and She said she was tired. Ask whether her tiredness belongs to now or to the moment she spoke. When students say the past, say:
“So the verb steps back one place: am becomes was. English calls this backshift.” Model three pairs: is to was, went to had gone, will to would.

Ask students to repeat: the verb steps back because the speaking moment is already past.

Scene 2: The three-step rewrite

Write the routine as three boxes: 1 tense, 2 pronouns, 3 time and place words. Model She said, “I will call you tomorrow.” Change will to would, you to me, tomorrow to the next day, giving She said she would call me the next day. Ask which word moved at each step.

Most common misconception: students backshift every verb and write had would come. Only the first auxiliary steps back; the verb after would stays in the base form.

Ask students to repeat: tense first, pronouns second, time words third.

Scene 3: Questions and commands

Model a yes or no question first: He asked, “Are you ready?” becomes He asked if I was ready. Then a wh- question: She asked, “Where did you go?” becomes She asked where I had gone, with did removed and the verb carrying the tense. Then a command: He said, “Close the door.” becomes He told me to close the door, with said changed to told and an object added.

Ask students to repeat: questions take statement order, commands take told somebody to.

Scene 4: Facts that stay put

Write three lines on the board: The teacher said water boils at 100 degrees Celsius; The teacher said the sun rises in the east; and She said she had finished. Ask why none of them shifts further. Answer: facts stay in the present because they are always true, and a past perfect form cannot step back again.

Ask students to repeat: facts do not shift, and past perfect cannot shift twice.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Statement	She said, “I will call you.”	will to would; you to me; drop the comma and add that	She said that she would call me.
Yes or no question	He asked, “Are you ready?”	Drop the question mark; add if or whether; restore statement order	He asked if I was ready.
Wh- question	She asked, “Where did you go?”	Remove did; put the verb in past perfect; subject before verb	She asked where I had gone.
Command or request	He said, “Close the door.”	said becomes told; add the object; to plus base verb	He told me to close the door.

Sanity check (teach this): Backshift moves exactly one place: present to past, past to past perfect, will to would. A form such as would have come has moved twice and is wrong. Reported facts keep the present tense because they hold at any time.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Rewrite Tom said, “I have finished my homework.”	Tom said that he had finished his homework.	Check has to had and my to his
Rewrite Mary asked, “Do you like Hong Kong?”	Mary asked if I liked Hong Kong.	Check the question mark is gone and order is normal
Rewrite The teacher said to us, “Do not be late.”	The teacher told us not to be late.	Check said is not left without an object

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
said followed by a person	She said me that she was tired.	Say: “Say cannot take a person directly. Use say to me, or switch to told me.”
Question keeps inverted order	He asked where did I live.	Say: “Once it is reported, use statement order: where I lived.”
Time word unchanged	She said she would come tomorrow.	Say: “Tomorrow becomes the next day, because the speaking moment is already past.”
Every verb backshifted	He said he had would come.	Say: “Only the first auxiliary steps back. After would, use the base verb.”

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

S4 Tense and Passive Voice guide, section 5, practice items 1 to 3 — Warm up with tense choice, then do the ten-sentence rewrite sheet handed out in class
S5 Reading Long Questions guide, section 4, question types table row 2 — Reuse the same sentences to practise reporting verbs with that

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Rewrite They said, “We are leaving now.”	They said they were leaving then.	Full marks pass; one missing change means reteach the second act
Rewrite She asked me, “Have you seen this film?”	She asked me if I had seen that film.	Inverted order means reteach the third act
Should The teacher said water boils be backshifted	No. Facts remain in the present tense.	Answering yes means reteach the fourth act

09 Tutor FAQ

Which year group is this for

Mainly S4, and also S5 students who need repair work on tense consistency, with the emphasis on time words.

Is forty-five minutes enough

Yes. Model only two sentences and spend the rest of the time with students writing; five sentences each matters more than two more examples.

Is there practice attached

Yes. Section 5 has three items for class, and the homework links to a named section and item numbers in the tense and passive guide.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.