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Reported Speech

Perfect english grammar.

Reported Statements

Here's how it works:

We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:

• Direct speech: I like ice cream.
• Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'. (As I'm sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English. I've put it in brackets () to show that it's optional. It's exactly the same if you use 'that' or if you don't use 'that'.)

But , if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:

• Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.

* doesn't change.

• Direct speech: The sky is blue.
• Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.

Click here for a mixed tense exercise about practise reported statements. Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

Reported Questions

So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and negative sentences. But how about questions?

• Direct speech: Where do you live?
• Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.
• Direct speech: Where is Julie?
• Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was.

• Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?
• Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.

Click here to practise reported 'wh' questions. Click here to practise reported 'yes / no' questions. Reported Requests

There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example:

• Direct speech: Close the window, please
• Or: Could you close the window please?
• Or: Would you mind closing the window please?
• Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.

• Direct speech: Please don't be late.
• Reported speech: She asked us not to be late.

Reported Orders

• Direct speech: Sit down!
• Reported speech: She told me to sit down.

• Click here for an exercise to practise reported requests and orders.

• Click here for an exercise about using 'say' and 'tell'.
• Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

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Indirekte Rede Englisch

Möchtest du in Englisch indirekte Rede verwenden? Dann solltest du ein paar Besonderheiten kennen. Im Beitrag und im Video stellen wir dir die wichtigsten Regeln der reported speech vor. Passende Übungen findest du hier !

Was ist reported speech? Erklärung

Reported speech – zeitformen verschiebung, reported speech – bildung der einleitung.

• Reported speech – Regeln & Anpassungen

Indirekte Rede Englisch – Häufigste Fragen

Zeitformen englisch.

Die Begriffe reported speech oder indirect speech beschreiben beide das Gleiche: die englische indirekte Rede .

Aber wofür brauchst du sie? Ganz einfach: Wenn du wiedergeben möchtest, was eine andere Person gesagt hat. Stell dir vor, deine Freundin Lisa telefoniert mit ihrem Freund Paul und berichtet dir, was er erzählt: 

• 📞Paul: I really like the new boy in my class.
• 🗣️Lisa: Paul says that he really likes the new boy in his class. 

Lisa verwendet hier ein reporting verb (to say) im Simple Present, um die Aussage von Paul zu wiederholen. Ist das Gespräch aber schon vorbei, würde Lisa das Verb to say in der Vergangenheitsform  verwenden. Dann verschiebt sich auch das andere Verb im Satz um eine Zeitstufe nach hinten:

• 📞Paul: The family of this boy lives right next to me. 
• 🗣️Lisa: Paul said that the family of that boy lived right next to him.

Wenn du direkte Rede in englische indirekte Rede umwandelst, musst du nicht nur die Zeitform anpassen. Achte darauf, auch andere Wörter anzugleichen , wie:

• Pronomen (I like → he likes)
• Ortsangaben (next to me → next to him)
• Zeitangaben (today → that day)

Außerdem brauchst du sogenannte  reporting verbs:

• für Aussagen: to say, to tell, to explain, to mention, … 
• für Fragen: to ask, to wonder, to want to know, …
• für Bitten/Befehle: to order, to advise, to expect, …

Mithilfe von reporting verbs kannst du die indirekte Rede also einleiten (Beispiel: She told me that… ). Wenn du das einleitende Verb in der Vergangenheitsform benutzt, musst du aber auch das andere Verb im Satz anpassen — du verschiebst es um eine Zeitstufe nach hinten („backshift of tenses“) :

Ausnahme: Modalverben  kannst du nicht in eine Vergangenheitsform setzen. Sie bleiben also auch bei der indirekten Rede im Englischen unverändert . Dazu gehören: could, should, would, must  und might.

• Direct speech: I would prefer another day. 
• Indirect speech: He said that he would prefer another day. 

Simple Present → Simple Past

• Paul: My grandparents are on vacation.
• Lisa: He mentioned that his grandparents were on vacation. 

Present Progressive → Past Progressive

• Paul: I am doing my homework. 
• Lisa: He explained that he was doing his homework. 

Simple past → Past Perfect

• Paul: Yesterday, I lost my phone. 
• Lisa: He told me that he had lost his phone the day before. 

Past progressive → Past Perfect Progressive

• Paul: I was really studying for the test.
• Lisa: He promised that he really had been studying for the test. 

Present Perfect → Past Perfect

• Paul: I have started to play the piano. 
• Lisa: He said that he had started to play the piano.

Present Perfect Progressive → Past Perfect Progressive

• Paul: I have been playing the guitar for years. 
• Lisa: He added that he had been playing the guitar for years. 

Will-Future → would

• Paul: I will call you again soon. 
• Lisa: He promised that he would call me again soon. 

Die englische indirekte Rede wird also von einem Satzteil eingeleitet , der ein reporting verb enthält. Anders als beim Zitat musst du dabei  keine Anführungszeichen setzen. Der Einleitungssatz sieht nicht immer gleich aus, denn er hängt von der Art der direkten Rede ab: 

• Bitte/Befehl

Aussagesätze werden in der englischen indirect speech mit dem Wort that eingeleitet: 

• Direct speech: My uncle moved to London. 
• Indirect speech: Paul said that his uncle had moved to London.

Möchtest du eine Frage mit Fragewort wiedergeben, setzt du dieses direkt hinter das reporting verb: 

• Direct speech: How did you find out?
• Indirect speech: He wondered how I had found out. 

Gibt es in der direkten Frage kein Fragewort , setzt du ein if hinter das reporting verb: 

• Direct speech: Have you met the new boy?
• Indirect speech: He asked if I had met the new boy. 

Bitte / Befehl

Bei der Wiedergabe von Bitten oder Befehlen nennst du hinter dem reporting verb die angesprochene Person . Darauf folgt ein to und das Verb, welches im Infinitiv bleibt.  

• Direct speech: Listen to me!
• Indirect speech: Paul ordered  me to listen to him. 

Reported speech – Regeln &   Anpassungen

Vergiss nicht, Pronomen sowie Orts- und Zeitangaben anzupassen, damit der Satz die gleiche Bedeutung behält. 

Indirect speech Erklärung – Pronomen anpassen

Sämtliche Pronomen müssen in der englischen reported speech angepasst werden. Dazu gehören Personalpronomen (I, you, we, …) , Possessivpronomen (my, your, our, …) , und Demonstrativpronomen (this, that, these, those) . 

• Paul: Do you remember where I left my phone?
• Lisa: He asked if I remembered where he had left his phone.

Indirect speech Erklärung – Ort & Zeitangaben anpassen

Auch die Orts- und Zeitangaben veränderst du in der englischen reported speech:

• Paul: They were standing right behind me . 
• Lisa: Paul said that they had been standing right behind him . 
• Paul: Last week , I visited my aunt. 
• Lisa: He told me that he had visited his aunt the week before .

Hier siehst du, wie du die Zeitangaben anpassen kannst: 

• Was ist reported speech? Mit der indirekten Rede (reported speech) gibst du wieder, was eine andere Person gesagt hat. Dafür benutzt du ein einleitendes Verb, wie: to say, to tell, to explain, to believe, to mention . Steht das Verb im Präsens, veränderst du die Zeitangaben und Verben nicht.  
• Wie wandelt man direkte Rede in indirekte Rede um (Englisch)? Nutzt du für die englische indirekte Rede (indirect speech englisch) im Einleitungssatz ein Verb in der Vergangenheitsform, wird das andere Verb um eine Zeitform zurück geschoben:  – Direct speech: Tom: „I go to school.“ – Reported speech: Tom said that he went to school.   
• Welche reported speech Regeln gibt es? Bei der reported speech im Englischen brauchst du einen Einleitungssatz mit einem reporting Verb (z. B. to say ). Nutzt du dieses in der Vergangenheitsform, musst du auch das andere Verb im Satz verändern. Außerdem passt du laut den indirect speech Regeln immer die Pronomen, Orts- und Zeitangaben an. 

Sehr gut, jetzt kennst du die englischen indirect speech Regeln rund um die indirect speech Bildung! Du möchtest dir nochmal einen Überblick über die verschiedenen Zeitformen in Englisch verschaffen? Dann schau einfach hier vorbei!

Beliebte Inhalte aus dem Bereich Grammatik Englisch

• Verneinung Englisch Dauer: 04:22
• Fragen auf Englisch Dauer: 04:41
• to be Dauer: 03:35

Weitere Inhalte: Grammatik Englisch

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Reported Speech (Indirect Speech) in English – Summary

How to use reported speech.

If you have a sentence in Direct Speech, try to follow our 5 steps to put the sentence into Reported Speech..

• Define the type of the sentence (statement, questions, command)
• What tense is used in the introductory sentence?
• Do you have to change the person (pronoun)?
• Do you have to backshift the tenses?
• Do you have to change expressions of time and place?

1. Statements, Questions, Commands

Mind the type of sentences when you use Reported Speech. There is more detailed information on the following pages.

• Commands, Requests

2. The introductory sentence

If you use Reported Speech there are mostly two main differences.

The introductory sentence in Reported Speech can be in the Present or in the Past .

If the introductory sentences is in the Simple Present, there is no backshift of tenses.

Direct Speech:

• Susan, “ Mary work s in an office.”

Reported Speech:

• Introductory sentence in the Simple Present → Susan says (that)* Mary work s in an office.
• Introductory sentence in the Simple Past → Susan said (that)* Mary work ed in an office.

3. Change of persons/pronouns

If there is a pronoun in Direct Speech, it has possibly to be changed in Reported Speech, depending on the siutation.

• Direct Speech → Susan, “I work in an office.”
• Reported Speech → Susan said (that)* she worked in an office.

Here I is changed to she .

4. Backshift of tenses

If there is backshift of tenses in Reported Speech, the tenses are shifted the following way.

• Direct Speech → Peter, “ I work in the garden.”
• Reported Speech → Peter said (that)* he work ed in the garden.

5. Conversion of expressions of time and place

If there is an expression of time/place in the sentence, it may be changed, depending on the situation.

• Direct Speech → Peter, “I worked in the garden yesterday .”
• Reported Speech → Peter said (that) he had worked in the garden the day before .

6. Additional information

In some cases backshift of tenses is not necessary, e.g. when statements are still true. Backshift of tenses is never wrong.

• John, “My brother is at Leipzig university.”
• John said (that) his brother was at Leipzig university. or
• John said (that) his brother is at Leipzig university.

when you use general statements.

• Mandy, “The sun rises in the east.”
• Mandy said (that) the sun rose in the east. or
• Mandy said (that) the sun rises in the east.

* The word that is optional, that is the reason why we put it in brackets.

• You are here:
• Grammar Explanations
• Reported Speech

What is Reported Speech and how to use it? with Examples

Published by

Olivia Drake

Reported speech and indirect speech are two terms that refer to the same concept, which is the act of expressing what someone else has said.

On this page:

Reported speech is different from direct speech because it does not use the speaker’s exact words. Instead, the reporting verb is used to introduce the reported speech, and the tense and pronouns are changed to reflect the shift in perspective. There are two main types of reported speech: statements and questions.

1. Reported Statements: In reported statements, the reporting verb is usually “said.” The tense in the reported speech changes from the present simple to the past simple, and any pronouns referring to the speaker or listener are changed to reflect the shift in perspective. For example, “I am going to the store,” becomes “He said that he was going to the store.”

2. Reported Questions: In reported questions, the reporting verb is usually “asked.” The tense in the reported speech changes from the present simple to the past simple, and the word order changes from a question to a statement. For example, “What time is it?” becomes “She asked what time it was.”

It’s important to note that the tense shift in reported speech depends on the context and the time of the reported speech. Here are a few more examples:

• Direct speech: “I will call you later.”Reported speech: He said that he would call me later.
• Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?”Reported speech: She asked if I had finished my homework.
• Direct speech: “I love pizza.”Reported speech: They said that they loved pizza.

When do we use reported speech?

Reported speech is used to report what someone else has said, thought, or written. It is often used in situations where you want to relate what someone else has said without quoting them directly.

Reported speech can be used in a variety of contexts, such as in news reports, academic writing, and everyday conversation. Some common situations where reported speech is used include:

News reports:  Journalists often use reported speech to quote what someone said in an interview or press conference.

Business and professional communication:  In professional settings, reported speech can be used to summarize what was discussed in a meeting or to report feedback from a customer.

Conversational English:  In everyday conversations, reported speech is used to relate what someone else said. For example, “She told me that she was running late.”

Narration:  In written narratives or storytelling, reported speech can be used to convey what a character said or thought.

How to make reported speech?

1. Change the pronouns and adverbs of time and place: In reported speech, you need to change the pronouns, adverbs of time and place to reflect the new speaker or point of view. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “I’m going to the store now,” she said. Reported speech: She said she was going to the store then.

In this example, the pronoun “I” is changed to “she” and the adverb “now” is changed to “then.”

2. Change the tense: In reported speech, you usually need to change the tense of the verb to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “I will meet you at the park tomorrow,” he said. Reported speech: He said he would meet me at the park the next day.

In this example, the present tense “will” is changed to the past tense “would.”

3. Change reporting verbs: In reported speech, you can use different reporting verbs such as “say,” “tell,” “ask,” or “inquire” depending on the context of the speech. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?” she asked. Reported speech: She asked if I had finished my homework.

In this example, the reporting verb “asked” is changed to “said” and “did” is changed to “had.”

Overall, when making reported speech, it’s important to pay attention to the verb tense and the changes in pronouns, adverbs, and reporting verbs to convey the original speaker’s message accurately.

How do I change the pronouns and adverbs in reported speech?

1. Changing Pronouns: In reported speech, the pronouns in the original statement must be changed to reflect the perspective of the new speaker. Generally, the first person pronouns (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours) are changed according to the subject of the reporting verb, while the second and third person pronouns (you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their, theirs) are changed according to the object of the reporting verb. For example:

Direct speech: “I love chocolate.” Reported speech: She said she loved chocolate.

Direct speech: “You should study harder.” Reported speech: He advised me to study harder.

Direct speech: “She is reading a book.” Reported speech: They noticed that she was reading a book.

2. Changing Adverbs: In reported speech, the adverbs and adverbial phrases that indicate time or place may need to be changed to reflect the perspective of the new speaker. For example:

Direct speech: “I’m going to the cinema tonight.” Reported speech: She said she was going to the cinema that night.

Direct speech: “He is here.” Reported speech: She said he was there.

Note that the adverb “now” usually changes to “then” or is omitted altogether in reported speech, depending on the context.

It’s important to keep in mind that the changes made to pronouns and adverbs in reported speech depend on the context and the perspective of the new speaker. With practice, you can become more comfortable with making these changes in reported speech.

How do I change the tense in reported speech?

In reported speech, the tense of the reported verb usually changes to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here are some guidelines on how to change the tense in reported speech:

Present simple in direct speech changes to past simple in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I like pizza.” Reported speech: She said she liked pizza.

Present continuous in direct speech changes to past continuous in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I am studying for my exam.” Reported speech: He said he was studying for his exam.

Present perfect in direct speech changes to past perfect in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I have finished my work.” Reported speech: She said she had finished her work.

Past simple in direct speech changes to past perfect in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I visited my grandparents last weekend.” Reported speech: She said she had visited her grandparents the previous weekend.

Will in direct speech changes to would in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I will help you with your project.” Reported speech: He said he would help me with my project.

Can in direct speech changes to could in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I can speak French.” Reported speech: She said she could speak French.

Remember that the tense changes in reported speech depend on the tense of the verb in the direct speech, and the tense you use in reported speech should match the time frame of the new speaker’s perspective. With practice, you can become more comfortable with changing the tense in reported speech.

Do I always need to use a reporting verb in reported speech?

No, you do not always need to use a reporting verb in reported speech. However, using a reporting verb can help to clarify who is speaking and add more context to the reported speech.

In some cases, the reported speech can be introduced by phrases such as “I heard that” or “It seems that” without using a reporting verb. For example:

Direct speech: “I’m going to the cinema tonight.” Reported speech with a reporting verb: She said she was going to the cinema tonight. Reported speech without a reporting verb: It seems that she’s going to the cinema tonight.

However, it’s important to note that using a reporting verb can help to make the reported speech more formal and accurate. When using reported speech in academic writing or journalism, it’s generally recommended to use a reporting verb to make the reporting more clear and credible.

Some common reporting verbs include say, tell, explain, ask, suggest, and advise. For example:

Direct speech: “I think we should invest in renewable energy.” Reported speech with a reporting verb: She suggested that they invest in renewable energy.

Overall, while using a reporting verb is not always required, it can be helpful to make the reported speech more clear and accurate

How to use reported speech to report questions and commands?

1. Reporting Questions: When reporting questions, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “asked” or “wondered” followed by the question word (if applicable), subject, and verb. You also need to change the word order to make it a statement. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “What time is the meeting?” Reported speech: She asked what time the meeting was.

Note that the question mark is not used in reported speech.

2. Reporting Commands: When reporting commands, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “ordered” or “told” followed by the person, to + infinitive, and any additional information. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “Clean your room!” Reported speech: She ordered me to clean my room.

Note that the exclamation mark is not used in reported speech.

In both cases, the tense of the reported verb should be changed accordingly. For example, present simple changes to past simple, and future changes to conditional. Here are some examples:

Direct speech: “Will you go to the party with me?”Reported speech: She asked if I would go to the party with her. Direct speech: “Please bring me a glass of water.”Reported speech: She requested that I bring her a glass of water.

Remember that when using reported speech to report questions and commands, the introductory phrases and verb tenses are important to convey the intended meaning accurately.

How to make questions in reported speech?

To make questions in reported speech, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “asked” or “wondered” followed by the question word (if applicable), subject, and verb. You also need to change the word order to make it a statement. Here are the steps to make questions in reported speech:

Identify the reporting verb: The first step is to identify the reporting verb in the sentence. Common reporting verbs used to report questions include “asked,” “inquired,” “wondered,” and “wanted to know.”

Change the tense and pronouns: Next, you need to change the tense and pronouns in the sentence to reflect the shift from direct to reported speech. The tense of the verb is usually shifted back one tense (e.g. from present simple to past simple) in reported speech. The pronouns should also be changed as necessary to reflect the shift in perspective from the original speaker to the reporting speaker.

Use an appropriate question word: If the original question contained a question word (e.g. who, what, where, when, why, how), you should use the same question word in the reported question. If the original question did not contain a question word, you can use “if” or “whether” to introduce the reported question.

Change the word order: In reported speech, the word order of the question changes from the inverted form to a normal statement form. The subject usually comes before the verb, unless the original question started with a question word.

Here are some examples of reported questions:

Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?”Reported speech: He wanted to know if I had finished my homework. Direct speech: “Where are you going?”Reported speech: She wondered where I was going.

Remember that when making questions in reported speech, the introductory phrases and verb tenses are important to convey the intended meaning accurately.

Here you can find more examples of direct and indirect questions

What is the difference between reported speech an indirect speech?

In reported or indirect speech, you are retelling or reporting what someone said using your own words. The tense of the reported speech is usually shifted back one tense from the tense used in the original statement. For example, if someone said, “I am going to the store,” in reported speech you would say, “He/she said that he/she was going to the store.”

The main difference between reported speech and indirect speech is that reported speech usually refers to spoken language, while indirect speech can refer to both spoken and written language. Additionally, indirect speech is a broader term that includes reported speech as well as other ways of expressing what someone else has said, such as paraphrasing or summarizing.

Examples of direct speech to reported

• Direct speech: “I am hungry,” she said. Reported speech: She said she was hungry.
• Direct speech: “Can you pass the salt, please?” he asked. Reported speech: He asked her to pass the salt.
• Direct speech: “I will meet you at the cinema,” he said. Reported speech: He said he would meet her at the cinema.
• Direct speech: “I have been working on this project for hours,” she said. Reported speech: She said she had been working on the project for hours.
• Direct speech: “What time does the train leave?” he asked. Reported speech: He asked what time the train left.
• Direct speech: “I love playing the piano,” she said. Reported speech: She said she loved playing the piano.
• Direct speech: “I am going to the grocery store,” he said. Reported speech: He said he was going to the grocery store.
• Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?” the teacher asked. Reported speech: The teacher asked if he had finished his homework.
• Direct speech: “I want to go to the beach,” she said. Reported speech: She said she wanted to go to the beach.
• Direct speech: “Do you need help with that?” he asked. Reported speech: He asked if she needed help with that.
• Direct speech: “I can’t come to the party,” he said. Reported speech: He said he couldn’t come to the party.
• Direct speech: “Please don’t leave me,” she said. Reported speech: She begged him not to leave her.
• Direct speech: “I have never been to London before,” he said. Reported speech: He said he had never been to London before.
• Direct speech: “Where did you put my phone?” she asked. Reported speech: She asked where she had put her phone.
• Direct speech: “I’m sorry for being late,” he said. Reported speech: He apologized for being late.
• Direct speech: “I need some help with this math problem,” she said. Reported speech: She said she needed some help with the math problem.
• Direct speech: “I am going to study abroad next year,” he said. Reported speech: He said he was going to study abroad the following year.
• Direct speech: “Can you give me a ride to the airport?” she asked. Reported speech: She asked him to give her a ride to the airport.
• Direct speech: “I don’t know how to fix this,” he said. Reported speech: He said he didn’t know how to fix it.
• Direct speech: “I hate it when it rains,” she said. Reported speech: She said she hated it when it rained.

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• Schülerlexikon
• Englisch Abitur
• 3 Grammatik
• 3.8.8 Direkte und indirekte Rede (direct and reported speech)

Indirekte Rede (reported speech)

Die indirekte Rede (reported speech) ist die Wiedergabe einer mündlichen oder schriftlichen Äußerung. Sie erfolgt allerdings in abgewandelter Form. Der Artikel stellt so genannte Einführungsverben für die indirekte Rede vor. Er veranschaulicht die Anpassung der Personal- und Possessivpronomen und die Änderung der Zeitenfolge durch Beispielsätze und einen kurzen Textausschnitt.

In der indirekten Rede wird aus

Says und said bezeichnet man als Einführungsverben .

Weitere einführende Verben sind z. B.: to add, to admit, to argue, to complain, to contradict, to doubt if, to emphasize, to exclaim, to mention, to point out, to promise, to want to know, to wonder if.

Folgende Elemente der direkten Rede passen sich der Situation der Redewiedergabe an:

Bei der Wiedergabe durch eine andere Person verändern sich Personal- und Possessivpronomen: “I will travel through Sweden with my friend next month.” He says (that) he will travel through Sweden with his friend the following month.

Zeitangaben werden in indirekter Rede umschrieben: “I will stop smoking tomorrow.” “She mentioned that she would stop smoking the next day.” “Did the pain start yesterday evening?” “The doctor wanted to know if the pain had started the previous evening.”

Steht bei der Umwandlung von direkter in indirekte Rede das einführende Verb im simple past, findet eine Verschiebung der Verbzeiten statt. Diese Verschiebung orientiert sich an der Vergangenheit (back-shift of the tenses):

Bei der Wiedergabe von Anweisungen, Bitten und Ratschlägen in indirekter Rede werden Infinitivkonstruktionen verwendet: “Don't forget your umbrella.” He told her not to forget her umbrella.

Im folgenden Textauszug wird erkennbar, dass bei der Umwandlung von direkter in indirekter Rede nicht lediglich die Zeitenfolge beachtet werden muss:

Stand: 2010 Dieser Text befindet sich in redaktioneller Bearbeitung.

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Reported Speech: Important Grammar Rules and Examples

Reported speech is a very common aspect of the English language. You use it nearly every day, both in conversations and in writing. This reference covers key sections about reported speech, including what it is, examples, rules, and verb tense changes. You’ll also learn about modal verbs, changes in time and place, and different reporting verbs.

Reported Speech

What Is Reported Speech?

Reported speech is simply when you tell somebody what someone else said. You can do this in your writing, or in speech. Reported speech is very different from  direct speech , which is when you show what somebody said  in the exact way that they said it . In reported speech though, you do not need to quote somebody directly.

Instead, you use a reporting verb, such as ‘say’ or ‘ask’. These reporting verbs are used to report the speech to someone else. There are many different reporting verbs that can be used.

In short, reported speech is the linguistic technique that you use to tell somebody what someone else’s  direct speech  was. In reported speech though, you may need to make certain changes to the grammar to make the sentence make sense. Some examples below highlight what needs to be changed.

Reported Speech Examples

When using reported speech, you are usually talking about the past. The verbs, therefore, usually have to be in the past too.

For example :

• Direct speech:  I’ve lost my umbrella .
• Reported speech:  He said (that) he had lost his umbrella.

Another example :

• Direct speech:  She is doing her homework .
• Reported speech:  He said (that) she was doing her homework.

Table of Changes :

Reported Speech Rules

Verb tense changes in reported speech.

When the reporting verb is in the present tense, only small changes are needed.

• Direct speech:  I like dogs.
• Reported speech:  She  says  she likes dogs.

When the reporting verb is in the past tense, you need to change the tense of both the reporting verb and the main verb.

• Reported speech:  She  said  she  liked  dogs.

The tenses generally move backward as follows:

For sentences about the future, you also need to change the future verbs.

• Direct speech:  I shall leave in a moment.
• Reported speech:  She said that she would leave in a moment.

Here are the changes for future tenses:

Modal Verbs and Reported Speech

Modal verbs also change when used in reported speech.

• Direct speech:  Will I see you later?
• Reported speech:  He asked if he  would  see me later.

Some modal verbs do not need to change tense because they fit naturally.

• Direct speech:  I should go to the park.
• Reported speech:  He told me he  should  go to the park.

Here are both correct and incorrect examples of reported speech for clarity:

• Reported speech:  He told  me  he should go to the park.
• Reported speech:  He said he should go to the park.
• Incorrect reported speech:  He told he should go to the park.
• Incorrect reported speech:  He said me he should go to the park.

To correct these:

• Add ‘me’: He told  me  he should go to the park.
• Remove ‘me’ or add ‘to’: He said he should go to the park or He said  to  me he should go to the park.

Direct and Indirect Speech

Changes in time and place in reported speech.

References to  time  and  place often need to change when you use indirect speech. Here is a useful guide to these changes:

No Change in Verb Tenses in Reported Speech

In some cases,  verb tenses  do not change when you report speech indirectly. Here are the key instances:

• When the introductory verb is in the present , present perfect , or future .
• When the reported sentence deals with a  fact  or  general truth .
• When the reported sentence contains a  time clause .
• If the verb of the sentence is in the  unreal past  (the  second  or the  third conditional ).
• The  subjunctive  stays unchanged in the  subordinate clause .
• Had better ,  could ,  would ,  used to ,  should ,  might ,  ought to , and  mustn’t  remain unchanged.
• If the speaker reports  something immediately  or  soon after it was said .

Reporting Verbs in Indirect Speech

Reporting verbs are crucial in indirect speech. Here is a list categorized by their usage:

• Basic Verbs : Tell, say, ask
• Verb + that + clause : Complain, deny, explain, exclaim, remark, promise, boast, inform somebody, claim, agree, suggest
• Verb + to + infinitive : Agree, offer, refuse, demand, threaten, promise, claim
• Verb + indirect object + to + infinitive : Advise, allow, beg, command, encourage, forbid, invite, want, instruct, permit, urge, order, remind, warn
• Verb + “ing” form : Admit (to), accuse somebody of, apologize for, boast about/of, complain to somebody of, deny, insist on, suggest
• Verb + how : Explain to somebody

Reported Questions

When converting questions from direct to indirect speech, you follow rules similar to those for statements.  Verbs  used include inquire, wonder, want to know, ask.

Reported Commands and Requests

Commands and requests  in Indirect Speech are formed using the  to-infinitive  and  not to-infinitive . Common reporting verbs include order, shout, demand, warn, beg, command, tell, insist, beseech , threaten, implore, ask, propose, forbid.

Pronoun and tense changes  are needed when shifting from direct to indirect speech.

Reported Speech Video

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Reported speech

Changing time and place in reported speech

Time and place must often change when going from direct to reported speech (indirect speech).

In general, personal pronouns change to the third person singular or plural, except when the speaker reports his own words: I/me/my/mine, you/your/yours = him/his/her/hers we/us/our/ours, you/your/yours = they/their/theirs

He said: "I like your new car." = He told her that he liked her new car. I said: "I'm going to my friend's house." = I said that I was going to my friend's house.

If we are in the same place when we report something, then we do not need to make any changes to  place words . But if we are in a different place when we report something, then we need to change the place words. Look at these example sentences:

• He said: "It is cold in  here ." → He said that it was cold in  there .
• He said: "How much is  this book ?" → He asked how much  the book was.

Here are some common place words, showing how you change them for reported speech:

Course Curriculum

• Direct and indirect speech 15 mins
• Tense changes in reported speech 20 mins
• Changing time and place in reported speech 20 mins
• Reported questions 20 mins
• Reporting verbs 20 mins
• Reporting orders and requests 15 mins
• Reporting hopes, intentions and promises 20 mins

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Published at: 7-10-2016

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Reporting verb in present tense, if you use a reporting verb in present tense you don't have to change the tenses..

The article says the majority of Pakistanis came in the 1950s.

Reporting verb in past tense

If you use a reporting verb in past tense, there is a timeshift.

direct: I am Pakistani. indirect: He told me that he was Pakistani. direct: Have you realized that? indirect: He asked me if I had realized that.

Pronouns, place & time expressions

In reported speech you need to change pronouns and certain expressions for place & time, for example from i to he or she, or from yesterday to the previous day and so on..

direct: I went to a club yesterday ! indirect: He said he had been to a club the previous day .

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Reported Speech: Rules, Examples, Exceptions

👉 Quiz 1 / Quiz 2

Advanced Grammar Course

What is reported speech?

“Reported speech” is when we talk about what somebody else said – for example:

• Direct Speech: “I’ve been to London three times.”
• Reported Speech: She said she’d been to London three times.

There are a lot of tricky little details to remember, but don’t worry, I’ll explain them and we’ll see lots of examples. The lesson will have three parts – we’ll start by looking at statements in reported speech, and then we’ll learn about some exceptions to the rules, and finally we’ll cover reported questions, requests, and commands.

So much of English grammar – like this topic, reported speech – can be confusing, hard to understand, and even harder to use correctly. I can help you learn grammar easily and use it confidently inside my Advanced English Grammar Course.

In this course, I will make even the most difficult parts of English grammar clear to you – and there are lots of opportunities for you to practice!

Backshift of Verb Tenses in Reported Speech

When we use reported speech, we often change the verb tense backwards in time. This can be called “backshift.”

Here are some examples in different verb tenses:

Reported Speech (Part 1) Quiz

Exceptions to Backshift in Reported Speech

Now that you know some of the reported speech rules about backshift, let’s learn some exceptions.

There are two situations in which we do NOT need to change the verb tense.

No backshift needed when the situation is still true

For example, if someone says “I have three children” (direct speech) then we would say “He said he has three children” because the situation continues to be true.

If I tell you “I live in the United States” (direct speech) then you could tell someone else “She said she lives in the United States” (that’s reported speech) because it is still true.

When the situation is still true, then we don’t need to backshift the verb.

But when the situation is NOT still true, then we DO need to backshift the verb.

Imagine your friend says, “I have a headache.”

• If you immediately go and talk to another friend, you could say, “She said she has a headache,” because the situation is still true
• If you’re talking about that conversation a month after it happened, then you would say, “She said she had a headache,” because it’s no longer true.

No backshift needed when the situation is still in the future

We also don’t need to backshift to the verb when somebody said something about the future, and the event is still in the future.

Here’s an example:

• On Monday, my friend said, “I ‘ll call you on Friday .”
• “She said she ‘ll call me on Friday”, because Friday is still in the future from now.
• It is also possible to say, “She said she ‘d (she would) call me on Friday.”
• Both of them are correct, so the backshift in this case is optional.

Let’s look at a different situation:

• On Monday, my friend said, “I ‘ll call you on Tuesday .”
• “She said she ‘d  call me on Tuesday.” I must backshift because the event is NOT still in the future.

Review: Reported Speech, Backshift, & Exceptions

Quick review:

• Normally in reported speech we backshift the verb, we put it in a verb tense that’s a little bit further in the past.
• when the situation is still true
• when the situation is still in the future

Reported Requests, Orders, and Questions

Those were the rules for reported statements, just regular sentences.

What about reported speech for questions, requests, and orders?

For reported requests, we use “asked (someone) to do something”:

• “Please make a copy of this report.” (direct speech)
• She asked me to make a copy of the report. (reported speech)

For reported orders, we use “told (someone) to do something:”

• “Go to the bank.” (direct speech)
• “He told me to go to the bank.” (reported speech)

The main verb stays in the infinitive with “to”:

• She asked me to make a copy of the report. She asked me  make  a copy of the report.
• He told me to go to the bank. He told me  go  to the bank.

For yes/no questions, we use “asked if” and “wanted to know if” in reported speech.

• “Are you coming to the party?” (direct)
• He asked if I was coming to the party. (reported)
• “Did you turn off the TV?” (direct)
• She wanted to know if I had turned off the TV.” (reported)

The main verb changes and back shifts according to the rules and exceptions we learned earlier.

Notice that we don’t use do/does/did in the reported question:

• She wanted to know did I turn off the TV.
• She wanted to know if I had turned off the TV.

For other questions that are not yes/no questions, we use asked/wanted to know (without “if”):

• “When was the company founded?” (direct)
• She asked when the company was founded.” (reported)
• “What kind of car do you drive?” (direct)
• He wanted to know what kind of car I drive. (reported)

Again, notice that we don’t use do/does/did in reported questions:

• “Where does he work?”
• She wanted to know  where does he work.
• She wanted to know where he works.

Also, in questions with the verb “to be,” the word order changes in the reported question:

• “Where were you born?” ([to be] + subject)
• He asked where I was born. (subject + [to be])
• He asked where was I born.

Reported Speech (Part 2) Quiz

Learn more about reported speech:

• Reported speech: Perfect English Grammar
• Reported speech: BJYU’s

If you want to take your English grammar to the next level, then my Advanced English Grammar Course is for you! It will help you master the details of the English language, with clear explanations of essential grammar topics, and lots of practice. I hope to see you inside!

I’ve got one last little exercise for you, and that is to write sentences using reported speech. Think about a conversation you’ve had in the past, and write about it – let’s see you put this into practice right away.

Master the details of English grammar:

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Indirekte Rede im Englischen

Änderung der zeitformen.

Wenn der Einleitungssatz in der Gegenwart (say, tell,...) steht, bleibt die Zeitform gleich. Wenn er aber in der Vergangenheit (said, told,...) steht, ändert sich die Zeitform . In der folgenden Übersicht ist diese Änderung dargestellt.

Beispiel: Peter said, "Carol is a nice girl." Peter said (that) Carol was a nice girl.

Diese Verben werden nicht verändert: might, could, would, should

He said, "I might arrive late." He said (that) he might arrive late.

Es ist nicht notwendig die present tense in die past tense umzuändern, wenn die Aussage der direkten Rede noch immer zutreffen oder es sich um eine allgemeine Aussage handelt.

Frank said, "My sister is a secretary." Frank said (that) his sister is (was) a secretary.

He told us, "The sun rises in the east." He told us that the sun rises (rose) in the east.

Änderung der Pronomen

Wenn in der direkten Rede ein Pronomen steht, muss man dieses verändern, falls es sich auf eine Person im Einleitungssatz bezieht.

Susan said, " My parents are clever scientists."

Susan said (that) her parents were clever scientists.

Tom said, " I like PE best."

Tom said (that) he liked PE best.

They said, " We went swimming with our friends."

They said (that) they had gone swimming with their friend.

Betty said, "Sam told me the truth."

Betty said (that) Sam had told her the truth.

You and your:

They told her / him / me / them / us , "George likes you ."

They told her / him / me / them / us (that) George liked her / him / me / them / us .

They told her / him / me / them / us ,"George likes your sister."

They told her / him / me / them / us (that) George likes her / his / my / their / our sister.

They told her / him / me / them / us ," You are clever."

They told her / him / me / them / us (that) she / he / I / they / we was / were clever.

Änderung von Zeitangaben und Ortsangaben

Beispiel: She said, "I have already seen Carol today ." She said (that) she had already seen Carol that day .

Indirekte Fragen

Wenn ein Fragewort vorhanden ist, wird dieses auch in der indirekten Rede verwendet.

She asked them, " How often do you play golf?" She asked them how often they played golf.

Wenn es kein Fragewort gibt, wird die indirekte Rede entweder mit if oder mit whether begonnen.

She asked me, "Do you like some tea?" She asked me if/whether I liked some tea.

We asked them, "Did she arrive in time?" We asked them if/whether she had arrived in time.

Indirekte Bitten

Bei indirekten Bitten verwenden wir (not) to + infinitive .

He asked her, "Could you close the door, please?" He asked her to close the door.

She asked them, "Help me, please." She asked them to help her.

Indirekte Aufforderungen

Bei indirekten Aufforderungen verwenden wir ebenfalls (not) to + infinitive .

She told us, "Don't stay up too late!" She told us not to stay up too late.

Indirekte Rede - Übung 1 - Aussagesätze - mixed tenses

Indirekte Rede - Übung 2 - Aussagesätze - present tense

Indirekte Rede - Übung 3 - Aussagesätze - present tense

Indirekte Rede - Übung 4 - Aussagesätze - mixed tenses

Indirekte Rede - Übung 5 - Aussagesätze - mixed tenses

Indirekte Rede - Übung 6 - Aussagesätze, Fragen, Aufforderungen

Indirekte Rede - Übung 7 - Aussagesätze, Fragen, Aufforderungen

Indirekte Rede - Übung 8 - Fragen, Aufforderungen

Indirekte Rede - Übung 9 - Fragen, Aufforderungen

Indirekte Rede - Übung 10 - Aussagesätze, Fragen, Aufforderungen

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• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Reported speech: indirect speech

Indirect speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words. In indirect speech , the structure of the reported clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a statement, a question or a command.

Indirect speech: reporting statements

Indirect reports of statements consist of a reporting clause and a that -clause. We often omit that , especially in informal situations:

The pilot commented that the weather had been extremely bad as the plane came in to land. (The pilot’s words were: ‘The weather was extremely bad as the plane came in to land.’ )

I told my wife I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday. ( that -clause without that ) (or I told my wife that I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday .)

Indirect speech: reporting questions

Reporting yes-no questions and alternative questions.

Indirect reports of yes-no questions and questions with or consist of a reporting clause and a reported clause introduced by if or whether . If is more common than whether . The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:

She asked if [S] [V] I was Scottish. (original yes-no question: ‘Are you Scottish?’ )

The waiter asked whether [S] we [V] wanted a table near the window. (original yes-no question: ‘Do you want a table near the window? )

He asked me if [S] [V] I had come by train or by bus. (original alternative question: ‘Did you come by train or by bus?’ )

Questions: yes-no questions ( Are you feeling cold? )

Reporting wh -questions

Indirect reports of wh -questions consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a wh -word ( who, what, when, where, why, how ). We don’t use a question mark:

He asked me what I wanted.

Not: He asked me what I wanted?

The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:

She wanted to know who [S] we [V] had invited to the party.

Not: … who had we invited …

Who , whom and what

In indirect questions with who, whom and what , the wh- word may be the subject or the object of the reported clause:

I asked them who came to meet them at the airport. ( who is the subject of came ; original question: ‘Who came to meet you at the airport?’ )

He wondered what the repairs would cost. ( what is the object of cost ; original question: ‘What will the repairs cost?’ )

She asked us what [S] we [V] were doing . (original question: ‘What are you doing?’ )

Not: She asked us what were we doing?

When , where , why and how

We also use statement word order (subject + verb) with when , where, why and how :

I asked her when [S] it [V] had happened (original question: ‘When did it happen?’ ).

Not: I asked her when had it happened?

I asked her where [S] the bus station [V] was . (original question: ‘Where is the bus station?’ )

Not: I asked her where was the bus station?

The teacher asked them how [S] they [V] wanted to do the activity . (original question: ‘How do you want to do the activity?’ )

Not: The teacher asked them how did they want to do the activity?

Questions: wh- questions

Indirect speech: reporting commands

Indirect reports of commands consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a to -infinitive:

The General ordered the troops to advance . (original command: ‘Advance!’ )

The chairperson told him to sit down and to stop interrupting . (original command: ‘Sit down and stop interrupting!’ )

We also use a to -infinitive clause in indirect reports with other verbs that mean wanting or getting people to do something, for example, advise, encourage, warn :

They advised me to wait till the following day. (original statement: ‘You should wait till the following day.’ )

The guard warned us not to enter the area. (original statement: ‘You must not enter the area.’ )

Verbs followed by a to -infinitive

Indirect speech: present simple reporting verb

We can use the reporting verb in the present simple in indirect speech if the original words are still true or relevant at the time of reporting, or if the report is of something someone often says or repeats:

Sheila says they’re closing the motorway tomorrow for repairs.

Henry tells me he’s thinking of getting married next year.

Rupert says dogs shouldn’t be allowed on the beach. (Rupert probably often repeats this statement.)

Newspaper headlines

We often use the present simple in newspaper headlines. It makes the reported speech more dramatic:

JUDGE TELLS REPORTER TO LEAVE COURTROOM

PRIME MINISTER SAYS FAMILIES ARE TOP PRIORITY IN TAX REFORM

Present simple ( I work )

Reported speech

Reported speech: direct speech

Indirect speech: past continuous reporting verb

In indirect speech, we can use the past continuous form of the reporting verb (usually say or tell ). This happens mostly in conversation, when the speaker wants to focus on the content of the report, usually because it is interesting news or important information, or because it is a new topic in the conversation:

Rory was telling me the big cinema in James Street is going to close down. Is that true?

Alex was saying that book sales have gone up a lot this year thanks to the Internet.

‘Backshift’ refers to the changes we make to the original verbs in indirect speech because time has passed between the moment of speaking and the time of the report.

In these examples, the present ( am ) has become the past ( was ), the future ( will ) has become the future-in-the-past ( would ) and the past ( happened ) has become the past perfect ( had happened ). The tenses have ‘shifted’ or ‘moved back’ in time.

The past perfect does not shift back; it stays the same:

Modal verbs

Some, but not all, modal verbs ‘shift back’ in time and change in indirect speech.

We can use a perfect form with have + - ed form after modal verbs, especially where the report looks back to a hypothetical event in the past:

He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters. (original statement: ‘The noise might be the postman delivering letters.’ )

He said he would have helped us if we’d needed a volunteer. (original statement: ‘I’ll help you if you need a volunteer’ or ‘I’d help you if you needed a volunteer.’ )

Used to and ought to do not change in indirect speech:

She said she used to live in Oxford. (original statement: ‘I used to live in Oxford.’ )

The guard warned us that we ought to leave immediately. (original statement: ‘You ought to leave immediately.’ )

No backshift

We don’t need to change the tense in indirect speech if what a person said is still true or relevant or has not happened yet. This often happens when someone talks about the future, or when someone uses the present simple, present continuous or present perfect in their original words:

He told me his brother works for an Italian company. (It is still true that his brother works for an Italian company.)

She said she ’s getting married next year. (For the speakers, the time at the moment of speaking is ‘this year’.)

He said he ’s finished painting the door. (He probably said it just a short time ago.)

She promised she ’ll help us. (The promise applies to the future.)

Indirect speech: changes to pronouns

Changes to personal pronouns in indirect reports depend on whether the person reporting the speech and the person(s) who said the original words are the same or different.

Indirect speech: changes to adverbs and demonstratives

We often change demonstratives ( this, that ) and adverbs of time and place ( now, here, today , etc.) because indirect speech happens at a later time than the original speech, and perhaps in a different place.

Typical changes to demonstratives, adverbs and adverbial expressions

Indirect speech: typical errors

The word order in indirect reports of wh- questions is the same as statement word order (subject + verb), not question word order:

She always asks me where [S] [V] I am going .

Not: She always asks me where am I going .

We don’t use a question mark when reporting wh- questions:

I asked him what he was doing.

Not: I asked him what he was doing?

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Reported Speech in English Grammar

Direct speech, changing the tense (backshift), no change of tenses, question sentences, demands/requests, expressions with who/what/how + infinitive, typical changes of time and place, introduction.

In English grammar, we use reported speech to say what another person has said. We can use their exact words with quotation marks , this is known as direct speech , or we can use indirect speech . In indirect speech , we change the tense and pronouns to show that some time has passed. Indirect speech is often introduced by a reporting verb or phrase such as ones below.

Learn the rules for writing indirect speech in English with Lingolia’s simple explanation. In the exercises, you can test your grammar skills.

When turning direct speech into indirect speech, we need to pay attention to the following points:

• changing the pronouns Example: He said, “ I saw a famous TV presenter.” He said (that) he had seen a famous TV presenter.
• changing the information about time and place (see the table at the end of this page) Example: He said, “I saw a famous TV presenter here yesterday .” He said (that) he had seen a famous TV presenter there the day before .
• changing the tense (backshift) Example: He said, “She was eating an ice-cream at the table where you are sitting .” He said (that) she had been eating an ice-cream at the table where I was sitting .

If the introductory clause is in the simple past (e.g. He said ), the tense has to be set back by one degree (see the table). The term for this in English is backshift .

The verbs could, should, would, might, must, needn’t, ought to, used to normally do not change.

If the introductory clause is in the simple present , however (e.g. He says ), then the tense remains unchanged, because the introductory clause already indicates that the statement is being immediately repeated (and not at a later point in time).

In some cases, however, we have to change the verb form.

When turning questions into indirect speech, we have to pay attention to the following points:

• As in a declarative sentence, we have to change the pronouns, the time and place information, and set the tense back ( backshift ).
• Instead of that , we use a question word. If there is no question word, we use whether / if instead. Example: She asked him, “ How often do you work?” → She asked him how often he worked. He asked me, “Do you know any famous people?” → He asked me if/whether I knew any famous people.
• We put the subject before the verb in question sentences. (The subject goes after the auxiliary verb in normal questions.) Example: I asked him, “ Have you met any famous people before?” → I asked him if/whether he had met any famous people before.
• We don’t use the auxiliary verb do for questions in indirect speech. Therefore, we sometimes have to conjugate the main verb (for third person singular or in the simple past ). Example: I asked him, “What do you want to tell me?” → I asked him what he wanted to tell me.
• We put the verb directly after who or what in subject questions. Example: I asked him, “ Who is sitting here?” → I asked him who was sitting there.

We don’t just use indirect questions to report what another person has asked. We also use them to ask questions in a very polite manner.

When turning demands and requests into indirect speech, we only need to change the pronouns and the time and place information. We don’t have to pay attention to the tenses – we simply use an infinitive .

If it is a negative demand, then in indirect speech we use not + infinitive .

To express what someone should or can do in reported speech, we leave out the subject and the modal verb and instead we use the construction who/what/where/how + infinitive.

Say or Tell?

The words say and tell are not interchangeable. say = say something tell = say something to someone

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Backshift in Reported Speech

In simple terms, the structure of reported speech is:

reporting clause [+ conjunction] + reported clause

We sometimes change the tense of the reported clause by moving it back one tense. For example, present simple goes back one tense to past simple . We call this change " backshift ".

When do we use backshift?

We use backshift when it is logical to use backshift. So, for example, if two minutes ago John said "I am hungry" and I am now telling his sister, I might NOT use backshift (because John is still hungry):

• John just said that he is hungry.

But if yesterday John said "I am hungry" and I am now telling his sister, I would likely use backshift:

• Yesterday, John said that he was hungry. [We hope that John has eaten since yesterday ;-) ]

So we use backshift SOMETIMES but not always. And WHEN we use backshift, here's how it works with these common tenses and modals:

We NEVER use backshift when the original words are:

• past perfect
• If a situation is still true , backshift is optional .
• For a general truth there is no need for backshift.

Look at the following examples. See if you can understand when and why they use backshift:

* if still true, change is optional (sometimes a matter of emphasis) ** never changes

100 Reported Speech Examples: How To Change Direct Speech Into Indirect Speech

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of communicating what someone else has said without quoting their exact words. For example, if your friend said, “ I am going to the store ,” in reported speech, you might convey this as, “ My friend said he was going to the store. ” Reported speech is common in both spoken and written language, especially in storytelling, news reporting, and everyday conversations.

Reported speech can be quite challenging for English language learners because in order to change direct speech into reported speech, one must change the perspective and tense of what was said by the original speaker or writer. In this guide, we will explain in detail how to change direct speech into indirect speech and provide lots of examples of reported speech to help you understand. Here are the key aspects of converting direct speech into reported speech.

Reported Speech: Changing Pronouns

Pronouns are usually changed to match the perspective of the person reporting the speech. For example, “I” in direct speech may become “he” or “she” in reported speech, depending on the context. Here are some example sentences:

Reported Speech: Reporting Verbs

Reported speech: tense shifts.

When converting direct speech into reported speech, the verb tense is often shifted back one step in time. This is known as the “backshift” of tenses. It’s essential to adjust the tense to reflect the time elapsed between the original speech and the reporting. Here are some examples to illustrate how different tenses in direct speech are transformed in reported speech:

Reported Speech: Changing Time and Place References

Reported speech: question format.

When converting questions from direct speech into reported speech, the format changes significantly. Unlike statements, questions require rephrasing into a statement format and often involve the use of introductory verbs like ‘asked’ or ‘inquired’. Here are some examples to demonstrate how questions in direct speech are converted into statements in reported speech:

Reported Speech: Omitting Quotation Marks

Reported speech quiz.

• English Grammar
• Reported Speech

Reported Speech - Definition, Rules and Usage with Examples

Reported speech or indirect speech is the form of speech used to convey what was said by someone at some point of time. This article will help you with all that you need to know about reported speech, its meaning, definition, how and when to use them along with examples. Furthermore, try out the practice questions given to check how far you have understood the topic.

Table of Contents

Definition of reported speech, rules to be followed when using reported speech, table 1 – change of pronouns, table 2 – change of adverbs of place and adverbs of time, table 3 – change of tense, table 4 – change of modal verbs, tips to practise reported speech, examples of reported speech, check your understanding of reported speech, frequently asked questions on reported speech in english, what is reported speech.

Reported speech is the form in which one can convey a message said by oneself or someone else, mostly in the past. It can also be said to be the third person view of what someone has said. In this form of speech, you need not use quotation marks as you are not quoting the exact words spoken by the speaker, but just conveying the message.

Now, take a look at the following dictionary definitions for a clearer idea of what it is.

Reported speech, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a report of what somebody has said that does not use their exact words.” The Collins Dictionary defines reported speech as “speech which tells you what someone said, but does not use the person’s actual words.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, reported speech is defined as “the act of reporting something that was said, but not using exactly the same words.” The Macmillan Dictionary defines reported speech as “the words that you use to report what someone else has said.”

Reported speech is a little different from direct speech . As it has been discussed already, reported speech is used to tell what someone said and does not use the exact words of the speaker. Take a look at the following rules so that you can make use of reported speech effectively.

• The first thing you have to keep in mind is that you need not use any quotation marks as you are not using the exact words of the speaker.
• You can use the following formula to construct a sentence in the reported speech.

• You can use verbs like said, asked, requested, ordered, complained, exclaimed, screamed, told, etc. If you are just reporting a declarative sentence , you can use verbs like told, said, etc. followed by ‘that’ and end the sentence with a full stop . When you are reporting interrogative sentences, you can use the verbs – enquired, inquired, asked, etc. and remove the question mark . In case you are reporting imperative sentences , you can use verbs like requested, commanded, pleaded, ordered, etc. If you are reporting exclamatory sentences , you can use the verb exclaimed and remove the exclamation mark . Remember that the structure of the sentences also changes accordingly.
• Furthermore, keep in mind that the sentence structure , tense , pronouns , modal verbs , some specific adverbs of place and adverbs of time change when a sentence is transformed into indirect/reported speech.

Transforming Direct Speech into Reported Speech

As discussed earlier, when transforming a sentence from direct speech into reported speech, you will have to change the pronouns, tense and adverbs of time and place used by the speaker. Let us look at the following tables to see how they work.

Here are some tips you can follow to become a pro in using reported speech.

• Select a play, a drama or a short story with dialogues and try transforming the sentences in direct speech into reported speech.
• Write about an incident or speak about a day in your life using reported speech.
• Develop a story by following prompts or on your own using reported speech.

Given below are a few examples to show you how reported speech can be written. Check them out.

• Santana said that she would be auditioning for the lead role in Funny Girl.
• Blaine requested us to help him with the algebraic equations.
• Karishma asked me if I knew where her car keys were.
• The judges announced that the Warblers were the winners of the annual acapella competition.
• Binsha assured that she would reach Bangalore by 8 p.m.
• Kumar said that he had gone to the doctor the previous day.
• Lakshmi asked Teena if she would accompany her to the railway station.
• Jibin told me that he would help me out after lunch.
• The police ordered everyone to leave from the bus stop immediately.
• Rahul said that he was drawing a caricature.

Transform the following sentences into reported speech by making the necessary changes.

1. Rachel said, “I have an interview tomorrow.”

2. Mahesh said, “What is he doing?”

3. Sherly said, “My daughter is playing the lead role in the skit.”

4. Dinesh said, “It is a wonderful movie!”

5. Suresh said, “My son is getting married next month.”

6. Preetha said, “Can you please help me with the invitations?”

7. Anna said, “I look forward to meeting you.”

8. The teacher said, “Make sure you complete the homework before tomorrow.”

9. Sylvester said, “I am not going to cry anymore.”

10. Jade said, “My sister is moving to Los Angeles.”

Now, find out if you have answered all of them correctly.

1. Rachel said that she had an interview the next day.

2. Mahesh asked what he was doing.

3. Sherly said that her daughter was playing the lead role in the skit.

4. Dinesh exclaimed that it was a wonderful movie.

5. Suresh said that his son was getting married the following month.

6. Preetha asked if I could help her with the invitations.

7. Anna said that she looked forward to meeting me.

8. The teacher told us to make sure we completed the homework before the next day.

9. Sylvester said that he was not going to cry anymore.

10. Jade said that his sister was moving to Los Angeles.

What is reported speech?

What is the definition of reported speech.

Reported speech, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a report of what somebody has said that does not use their exact words.” The Collins Dictionary defines reported speech as “speech which tells you what someone said, but does not use the person’s actual words.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, reported speech is defined as “the act of reporting something that was said, but not using exactly the same words.” The Macmillan Dictionary defines reported speech as “the words that you use to report what someone else has said.”

What is the formula of reported speech?

You can use the following formula to construct a sentence in the reported speech. Subject said that (report whatever the speaker said)

Give some examples of reported speech.

Given below are a few examples to show you how reported speech can be written.

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David Brooks

Opinion Columnist

Biden’s Lackluster Speech Is a Reminder That He Couldn’t Win

President Biden’s speech on Monday night was a reminder of why the Democrats were right to make the switch to Kamala Harris as their candidate for president. I expected something personal from Biden, ruminating on his life, commitments and the hills and valleys of a long career. Instead, we got a familiar campaign speech that was about as personal and moving as a platform committee report.

I was hoping for something in the spirit of the Harris campaign — ebullient and joyful. Near the end, he got a little sentimental and said, “America, I gave my best to you.” But largely he delivered an unsmiling, haranguing speech.

We’ve had roughly a decade of the politics of anger, anxiety and indignation. The country is exhausted, and it would have been even more exhausted if this campaign had been another few months of old guys growling at her. On Monday, Biden offered people a vision of what his campaign might have been. I suppose the vast majority of Americans will be glad we are spared it.

I confess I still haven’t gotten over the way Biden was pushed from the nomination. He’s a sensationally good man. He made a million decisions as president that contributed to a string of policy victories, decisions that made him a superior president. The way it ended for him was unworthy of all he gave.

But on Monday it was clear there has been a shift in the spirit of the times, and Biden hasn’t quite caught it. He remains a great public servant. But he reminded us of the wisdom of Nancy Pelosi’s decision to maneuver him from the race, and the strategies of all those who worked to replace him. Anger and indignation is not the spirit America is hungering for now. The culture has moved on.

Opinion Staff Editor

Democrats and Labor Still Need Each Other

The first hours of the Democratic National Convention started with a whimper, as some of the party’s most awkward and uncharismatic speakers attempted to extol the Biden-Harris economic record to a skeptical American public. But when Shawn Fain, the bespectacled president of the United Auto Workers union, took the stage, he electrified the crowd.

In the cadence of a practiced union organizer, Fain quickly whipped a relatively sleepy stadium into a frenzy, asking the question that has prodded union members for nearly a century: “Which side are you on?” With the precision of an electrician (he is one), Fain dismantled Donald Trump’s claim that he is a friend of the American worker (he is not one), recounting the former president’s broken promises to the labor movement and declaring, “Donald Trump is a scab.”

That phrase sparked a riotous chant among the crowd: “TRUMP’S A SCAB.”

But beyond the hype, Fain’s speech also made a compelling case that the Democratic Party’s future is tied to an economy that works not only for businesses, but also for workers.

“Corporate greed,” he said, “turns blue-collar blood, sweat and tears into Wall Street stock buybacks and C.E.O. jackpots. It causes inflation. It hurts workers. It hurts consumers. And it hurts America.”

For the people Fain represents, a labor-friendly administration couldn’t be more crucial. For a party that’s often criticized as elite, an alliance with labor demonstrates that working Americans are critical to the party’s identity.

It’s hard to talk about the compelling nature of Fain’s appearance without acknowledging the noticeable absence of Sean O’Brien, the president of the Teamsters union, from the night’s proceedings. Weeks ago, O’Brien spoke at the Republican convention; perhaps unsurprisingly, he was not invited to speak by Democratic organizers. This was a missed opportunity for the Democrats to demonstrate that their values transcend party loyalty.

The 1.3 million Teamsters are crucial to the labor movement at large; their directives to not cross picket lines bolster other unions’ attempts at collective bargaining. If the Harris-Walz ticket is serious about being a friend to labor, it should make a Teamsters endorsement a priority. If the Teamsters’ leadership is serious about representing the needs of its members, it should consider throwing the union’s support behind a presidential candidate who does not praise Elon Musk for firing striking workers.

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Gail Collins

Hillary Clinton Finally Passes the Torch

Let’s admit that Hillary Clinton’s speech at the Democratic National Convention Monday night is not going to go down in political history. Oratory, we all know, is not her best thing. But boy, it really did feel good to see her standing there, being wildly cheered while she called on the country to elect a woman as president.

Clinton urged her audience to fight hard for Kamala Harris and remember that “the story of my life and the history of the country” was that “progress is possible but not guaranteed.”

It’s been less than eight years since Clinton — the first woman ever nominated for president by a major political party — lost to Donald Trump, to nearly everyone’s shock, including her own. Well, on Monday she did manage to mention that “nearly 66 million Americans” voted for her. She didn’t point out that was 2.9 million more votes than Trump got — this was a presidential nominating convention, not a symposium on reforming the Electoral College.

Hillary’s story isn’t quite as inspiring as Kamala Harris’s. Being married to the president is certainly a good way to make a name for yourself, but it’s not necessarily the perfect résumé for a job running the country.

And Clinton wasn’t a terrific candidate. Still, she worked as hard as humanly possible, soldiered on and then swallowed what many regarded as a deeply unfair defeat. She had been the secretary of state and a senator. Now she’s an advocate for the woman who’s trying to make America see a female president as something that’s perfectly normal.

“The future is here,” she proclaimed.

Yeah, I told you it wasn’t a super quotable effort. But give her credit — if it hadn’t been for Hillary Clinton, the Democrats wouldn’t have been prepared to embrace the idea of Kamala Harris as their nominee with such serene cheer.

David Firestone

Deputy Editor, the Editorial Board, reporting from Chicago

The Chicago Vibes Shouldn’t Obscure Trump’s Continuing Threat

For all the good cheer radiating from the United Center here, for all the rising poll numbers and buoyant rallies, Democrats can’t let themselves forget how serious the threat from Donald Trump remains, one longtime party operative said on Monday.

David Axelrod, a Chicago native best known for helping to engineer the rise of Barack Obama, told a group of Times Opinion writers and editors that they shouldn’t become deluded by Kamala Harris’s impressive poll numbers, because the polls often underestimate Trump’s real support.

“Everyone at the convention should be very much aware that this is a race he can win,” Axelrod said. “In fact, I think he would win today, despite those intoxicating Siena polls . I think it’s much more even or that she’s even slightly behind, in Pennsylvania, in Michigan.”

Trump has a “feral genius” for arousing his people, he said, and they will turn out at the polls to express their discontent. The United States is still a “65 percent wrong-track country,” he said, and Trump’s message that the world is out of control continues to resonate.

Axelrod’s admonition is an important reminder that Democrats and the Harris campaign can’t coast on giddy vibes. She may be doing better than President Biden was, but the race remains coin-toss close. The enduring mystery is how Trump’s base of support could continue unabated in the face of his increasing incoherence, his irrational attacks even on members of his own party and his overt denial of reality.

That’s an advantage Harris has, Axelrod said, and she needs to capitalize on a desperate desire among so many voters to have a chance for something new.

“A chance to turn the page on an era,” he said. “It’s somewhat awkward because you don’t want to be insulting to Biden. Tonight’s going to be challenging in that regard. But people wanted to turn the page on both these guys, and she’s offering them that opportunity — and she just needs to give them enough comfort that it is a reasonable step — that she is within the 30-yard lines and is focused on what’s important to people.”

Michelle Goldberg

Opinion Columnist, reporting from Chicago

Tonight, the Democrats Feature a MAGA Refugee

It isn’t hard to find former Trump voters who are now supporting Kamala Harris — many of them are people who served in Donald Trump’s administration. But Rich Logis, whose video testimonial will air Monday on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention, is unusual in that he was a MAGA die-hard, not just a conventional Republican who had reluctantly backed Trump.

A Florida businessman and a Ralph Nader voter with a deep suspicion of mainstream politicians, Logis was attracted to Trump’s outsider pose, eventually becoming a Trump volunteer, a contributor to pro-Trump websites like American Greatness and a MAGA podcaster. The Trump movement was his life.

“I was quite deep into that world,” he told me recently, explaining that his “MAGA second family” often “took precedence over my own blood family.”

Logis began to become disillusioned with his new family in 2021, at first because of its rampant anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. He describes his emergence from the movement as if he’d escaped a cult.

“All of these various pathologies about sex and race and Christian theocracy,” he said, “it keeps adherents in this constant perpetual state of desperation and feeling very panicked and hopeless.”

Today, Logis is the vice chair of Florida Republicans for Harris and has a nonprofit called Leaving MAGA, meant to provide outreach to former Trump supporters like him and to publicize their stories. Though the organization is still in its infancy, Logis has connected with a few fellow apostates.

“There has to be an offramp,” he said of MAGA devotees who might be harboring secret doubts. “There’s got to be a place for them to go, to make it just a little bit easier for them to leave. Because it’s not going to be easy at all.”

New York Times Opinion

Scenes From the Protests Outside the Convention

Tressie McMillan Cottom

What to Watch For at the Democratic National Convention

My, oh my, how a couple of weeks can change things. During the Republican National Convention (not even a month ago!), I was worried about how young the MAGA dynasty looked . At the time, President Biden was still the presumptive Democratic nominee, which could have made the visuals at the Democratic convention look geriatric by comparison.

Now we are headed into a Democratic convention that will be defined by a changing of the guard. Remarkably, a woman of color is the Democratic presidential nominee. Vice President Kamala Harris has the organizational, financial and political backing of an establishment candidate and the brand potential of a history-making one.

Here are four things to think about as you’re watching this week:

Personal biography. With such a historic candidate, the way the campaign frames Harris’s biography may be a rich political text. It might tell us how the campaign understands voters’ political imaginations and their taste for continuity. I believe Harris’s biographical narrative about race and gender has the most potential to challenge us. How will the convention display her identity as a woman, as a woman of color, as a mother figure and as a Gen X leader?

Accommodating the left. Some political strategists fear that Democrats will go too far to accommodate what they see as disconnected, discontented leftists. But some left-wing policies are among the most popular with Democratic voters, and many of its members are young people. How much will the Harris campaign play ball with them?

Biden’s legacy project. This convention is as much about how Harris became the nominee as it is about her platform. Biden should receive a hero’s send-off for stepping aside and for his decades of party service. How that send-off happens may indicate how the Harris campaign plans to distinguish her platform from the Biden record. How will the convention both enshrine Biden’s wins and make room for Harris to define herself?

The gender election. If 2008 was a reckoning on race, this election is a reckoning on gender. The Dobbs decision galvanized Democratic voters. The Trump-Vance campaign’s continued mischaracterization of its anti-abortion position also creates an opening for Democrats to reach Republican women. I expect to see this convention embrace everything from reproductive rights to Supreme Court expansion to energize the base. How much will it matter to undecided voters?

Jonathan Alter

Contributing Opinion Writer, reporting from Chicago

Trump’s Archaic Vision of a Communist Convention

So Kamala Harris is a communist? As the Democratic convention opens, that’s the word Donald Trump has chosen to define her, accusing her on Sunday of having gone “ full communist ” in her economic platform, which she detailed in a speech on Friday. He even posted a fake image of Harris addressing the Chicago convention, made to look like a communist rally.

Talk about a blast from the musty past. During the McCarthy era, a period in the early 1950s that historians will surely compare to our own, Republicans routinely accused Democrats of being communists. The far right of the party — represented by the John Birch Society — even claimed President Dwight Eisenhower was an agent of the communist conspiracy.

These charges declined in the years that followed. In 1971, when President Richard Nixon imposed wage and price controls on the economy far more stringent and ill-advised than Harris’s anti-price-gouging program, there was plenty of criticism, but no one accused Nixon of being a Red.

That’s in part because Nixon was himself a famous Red baiter. But the bigger reason Nixon’s price controls brought a different reaction was that by the 1970s, we knew there was no communist threat in the United States. After 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down, only crackpots flung the term around.

Which brings us to Sunday’s bogus charge by Trump and his fellow travelers. If Harris is a communist, then so was the “trust buster” Theodore Roosevelt, who in the Progressive era initiated the kind of vigorous antitrust enforcement that Harris would use against price-gouging corporations in the food sector. Roosevelt’s rhetoric and policies went far beyond anything Harris said in her Friday speech. Urging the 114-year-old Federal Trade Commission to continue its vigorous work on behalf of consumers is hardly radical.

As for thinking like a card-carrying communist, there is one candidate in this election with close ties to an infamous Soviet agent. Donald Trump has trashed hundreds of patriotic Americans, but he has never uttered a single critical word about a former K.G.B. colonel named Vladimir Putin. In fact, Trump has said that if our allies don’t pony up in the exact way he demands, Russia can have free rein to rebuild the old Soviet Empire in Europe.

When Trump inevitably claims in his Sept. 10 debate with Harris that he is tougher on Putin and the Chinese Communist leader Xi Jinping, Harris will no doubt be ready with the words of Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton: “Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un” — another communist — “and others: They think he’s a laughing fool. And they’re prepared to take advantage of it.”

Senator Joseph McCarthy dominated American politics from his first demagogic lies in 1950 to his censure by the Senate in 1954. Trump’s era has now gone three years longer than McCarthy’s, but an end may be in sight. With the help of hard work by real patriots, Trump may soon be remembered as a more powerful and dangerous McCarthy, consigned, like communism, to the dustbin of history.

Patrick Healy

Deputy Opinion Editor

The 10 Most Intriguing Speakers at the Convention (Real and Possible)

Every Monday morning on The Point, we kick off the week with a tipsheet on the latest in the presidential campaign. Here’s what we’re looking at this week:

Heading into the Democratic convention, I’m curious to see whether any of the speeches will be for the ages. Will any approach the soaring poetry of Mario Cuomo at the 1984 convention, the hope-filled apogee of Bill Clinton in 1992, the star-making performance of Barack Obama in 2004 and in 2016 the searing dignity of Khizr and Ghazala Khan and the home run of Michelle Obama? These are some of the people I could see grabbing America’s attention (if they indeed get a slot):

Nancy Pelosi: Will the legendary House speaker become a legendary convention speaker? She has the goods: Her determination to put party (and country) ahead of personal interests — President Biden’s — gives her a singular standing to make a case about the stakes in this election. She’s reportedly speaking on Wednesday; at the very least, she can deliver zingers at Donald Trump that evoke Ann Richards taking on George W. Bush in 1988 .

Michelle Obama: The former first lady is a great speechmaker, but doesn’t do many of them, so when she does, they feel special. You can imagine her setting the stage powerfully for Harris during her remarks on Tuesday and making a call to the country to live up to its history and ideals.

Pete Buttigieg: Anyone who watches Buttigieg on Fox News knows he can boil things down with terrific lines, and it’s being memorable in a matter of minutes that is meaningful.

Bill Clinton: Like Ms. Obama, the Big Dog has kept a low profile lately. When he speaks on Wednesday, could he do for Harris what he did for Barack Obama in 2012, making that sharp case for her over Trump?

Hillary Clinton: The ex-theater reporter in me wants her to surprise the audience by speaking from the heart, not the head. In an alternate universe, she is winding down her second term as president. What if she tried to transport listeners to that universe for a night — or else make people feel what might have been?

Joe Biden: Talk about speaking from the heart. If ever there was a moment, Monday night is it.

Beyoncé: She appeared with Hillary eight years ago to help close out the 2016 campaign. Will she do the same for Kamala Harris and turbocharge the Chicago convention?

A Palestinian American speaker: I’m curious to see if a Palestinian American is given a speaking slot at the convention, to bring home the war and suffering in Gaza and bring inside a taste of the protests outside the hall. Gaza is a test for Harris, and the convention speaker lineup says a lot about a party.

Tim Walz: He has a great stemwinder in him. Usually the V.P. doesn’t upstage the presidential nominee, but how Walz introduces himself to his biggest television audience yet will be must-see TV.

Kamala Harris: The biggest speech of her life. She’s been on a roll on the campaign trail, but a lot of Americans are still getting to know her as a possible president. No matter your party, it’s intriguing to see what Harris makes of the moment — whether she tries to be all things to all people or tries to make a few indelible points. Not many presidential nominees give the best speech of an entire convention — it would be one for the ages if she did.

Opinion Writer

Harris’s Economic Plan Could Impress a Lot of Voters

In Raleigh, N.C., on Friday, Kamala Harris did a pretty smooth job of reframing one of her biggest negatives — high prices — into a potential positive. If she can sell her message to voters, I think it will strongly improve her chances of winning in November.

Harris told the crowd that inflation is back below 3 percent for the first time since 2021. But she realizes that reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics don’t win votes. So she acknowledged that prices of essential items such as bread and ground beef are way higher than before the pandemic.

The plan that she presented wasn’t about how to lower the rate of inflation. It was about how to lower the cost of living.

There’s a difference. The rate of inflation — the increase in the prices of a broad range of goods and services — isn’t fully under the president’s control. Inflation is more strongly influenced by the Federal Reserve, which sets short-term interest rates, and by global economic forces, such as the pandemic-related interruptions to global supply chains in 2021 and 2022.

(The president isn’t entirely out of the inflation loop, of course. Generous pandemic aid from Congress, signed into law by President Biden, did contribute to the inflation spike.)

What the next occupant of the White House can more strongly influence is the cost of living, which is the bottom-line cost to households. Inflation is a broad economic phenomenon, while the cost of living can be affected by targeted interventions, like capping the cost of insulin.

In Raleigh, Harris detailed some of the interventions she favors to address the cost of living. They include incentives for housing construction; cracking down on “corporate landlords,” big supermarket chains and Big Pharma; restoration of the expanded child tax credit; and a more generous earned-income tax credit for families without children at home.

Harris also painted her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, as a friend of the rich who won’t help ordinary people deal with the cost of living. She got a big round of applause for saying, “If you want to know who someone cares about, look who they fight for.”

High prices still sting, but polls are showing that voters don’t blame Harris for them as much as they blame her boss. With inflation having fallen significantly from its peak, and with a plan to make voters feel that she can ease the pain, Harris seems poised to minimize the damage that inflation has been doing to the Democrats.

Contributing Opinion Writer

Trump’s Laughable Effort to Avoid Being Sentenced Before November

For the past half-century, Donald Trump has always had the same spaghetti approach to litigation: Throw everything against the wall and see what sticks.

On Sept. 18, Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over Trump’s New York felony trial, is expected to sentence him for his conviction on 34 counts of business fraud. But before doing so, Merchan will rule on two laughable pretrial motions offered by Trump’s defense team.

The first is yet another motion to force the judge to recuse himself from the case. Last spring, after an investigation, the New York courts determined that the work Merchan’s daughter performed for a Democratic political consulting firm did not pose a conflict of interest for the judge.

Of course, this did nothing to dissuade Trump and his legal team. When Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee, they filed another motion for recusal, claiming that the work of Merchan’s daughter in Harris’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign “may result in a financial benefit” to his family. On Aug. 12, Merchan ruled that the defense motion was “nothing more than a repetition of stale and unsubstantiated claims.”

Of course, Trump wasn’t done. On Thursday, Todd Blanche, his lead lawyer, sent a bizarre letter to the judge arguing that the jury’s verdict should be dismissed and the case vacated “based on presidential immunity, until after the 2024 presidential election.”

What does the Supreme Court’s recent decision on presidential immunity — which applies to what presidents do in office — have to do with the 2024 election? Here’s where things get a little, well, weird. First Blanche told the judge that his 2019 criticism of politicians who use Twitter — which Merchan had ruled irrelevant last March — must be revisited. Blanche now argues that the judge’s conversations with his daughter about Twitter should disqualify him from the case because the Supreme Court found that while president, Trump’s tweets fell under his “official duties.”

Then Blanche, no doubt following the boss’s orders, launched an even more explicitly political argument, down to calling the Democratic Party the “Democrat Party,” a handy G.O.P. insult for decades. He charged that Harris and Tim Walz “referred to this case in a public speech” — as if a campaign speech by Trump’s opponents is grounds for delaying sentencing or invalidating the jury’s verdict.

Blanche then writes ominously, with a little legal language to perfume his nonsense, “In the same time frame, Michael Nellis, a business partner of Your Honor’s daughter at Authentic Campaigns (and Authentic’s founder), posted on social media about, inter alia, making maximum donations to the Harris campaign and using his clout with that campaign to get Walz to ‘talk on our White Dudes for Harris call last week.’”

Horrors! Walz and the boss of the judge’s daughter are on a huge Zoom call together!

This is all vintage Trump, but also a sign of nervousness about his sentencing and the political peril he faces as the felonious nominee of the Republican Party.

Pamela Paul

The Misery of Leading Columbia University

On Wednesday Nemat Shafik resigned as president of Columbia University after little more than a year. Her resignation letter began by describing her “immense sadness” in stepping down, understandable given the prestige and opportunity of an Ivy League presidency, long considered a plum role in what Shafik described as a “life dedicated to public service.”

In normal times, you would have to ask why someone would give all that up. But these are not normal times, and the answer is obvious. A glance at the jubilant and downright vicious comments noting Shafik’s departure on the official Columbia University Instagram account gives a sense of the climate in which Shafik, who uses the name Minouche, was operating.

“A pathetic end to a feeble and embarrassing tenure,” noted one of the gentler posts. “Shame on her for not responding to antisemitism with courage and strength,” said another. “Go to hell Minouche! Free Palestine,” wrote a third. From many others, there were sounds of glee: “brat summer,” “Ding dong the witch is dead” and unprintable epithets laced with watermelon emojis.

Doubtless Shafik made mistakes during her brief tenure. A university has many stakeholders, and it is healthy and good for various parties to criticize a president’s policy decisions and positions and to work through appropriate channels to effect change. But the attacks against Shafik were not just professional, they were personal, and they were dehumanizing. The lack of civility, empathy and just plain humanity in the invective directed at her make it hard to think of the university as a welcoming or supportive environment in which to live and work.

Managing any large institution is hard, but the pressures on university presidents after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, the Israeli military response and subsequent student protests , faculty outcry and entrenched campus encampments make it almost untenable.

Shafik frequently found herself in a no-win situation, subjected to harsh judgment from both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel factions. She was criticized not only for the conciliatory nature of her testimony before Congress but also for agreeing to testify before Congress in the first place, even though institutions like Columbia rely on federal funding and support. It would have been fruitless for Shafik to try to please everyone, but the atmosphere on campus made it impossible for her to locate any common ground or sense of shared mission.

Shafik’s departure is nothing to celebrate, even for her critics. For now, Columbia has named an interim president, but doubtless it will be a challenge to find a permanent leader willing to assume the mantle. When running one of America’s great institutions goes from a prize position to a misery, nobody wins.

Valerie Pavilonis

Opinion Editorial Assistant

India’s ‘Reclaim the Night’ Protests Should Go Global

On Wednesday, crowds of women marched in the Indian state of West Bengal, protesting the brutal rape and murder of a female doctor trainee. While these demonstrations were a reaction to a week-old crime, the protesters chanted “reclaim the night,” a relic of an older protest movement — one that women across the world should revive.

Reclaim the Night began in 1977 in England, where the so-called Yorkshire Ripper had mutilated women after dark, and the police, in response, instructed women to stay home after sunset. English women, questioning why they should be restricted when dangerous men were the problem, responded with marches and placards that read “No curfew on women — curfew on men.” Since then, movements to “reclaim” or “take back" the night have waxed and waned .

According to a 2018 study , more than 80 percent of American women have experienced sexual harassment; worldwide, about a third of women have been subjected to intimate partner violence, sexual violence by a nonpartner or both at least once. Much of that violence happens after dark.

Women learn about night’s dangers from one another. Mothers warn their daughters never to walk alone at night, and TikTok is rife with videos of young women who share safety tips. (For example: hiss at threatening passerby.) In places where the sun sets in the afternoon (such as New York during the winter), it would be perfectly rational for a woman to feel the need to refrain from making after-work plans and immediately hunker down at home.

In India, gender-based violence routinely makes the news, both for its impunity and brutality. One of the country’s best-known cases, popularized internationally by the Netflix drama “Delhi Crime,” is that of Jyoti Singh, a woman who died after a brutal nighttime gang rape . As Indian law prohibits the publication of the names of rape victims, the press began calling her Nirbhaya, or “fearless.” This is the sort of nice, empty sentiment that does not make it safer for women to exist after dark. Why should women be expected to be fearless when violence against them continues to rise ?

One-half of the world’s population shouldn’t be afraid of one-half of each day — which, by some simple math, adds up to one-half of each life. India’s protests, then, are a chance for women around the world to say that their entire lives, not just the daylight hours, belong to them. Nighttime is a fact of life. Violence against women shouldn’t be.

Jesse Wegman

Editorial Board Member

In Plain Sight, Republicans Are Still Trying to Undermine the Election

Some of the most important and alarming reporting during the 2024 election cycle has centered on what used to be one of the sleepiest and least divisive corners of election administration — the vote certification process. Specifically, the nationwide effort by Republicans to install state election officials who are prepared, if not motivated, to undermine and possibly block the certification of vote totals. If that were to happen in the right counties in the right states, it could tip the outcome of the entire election.

Republicans are not being secretive about this. According to an investigation by Rolling Stone , nearly 70 battleground-state election officials have openly “questioned the validity of elections or delayed or refused to certify results.”

Certification has long been a routine ministerial task, unencumbered by partisanship, as the investigation points out. Increasingly, though, that’s not the case in the Trump era, now that Republicans have reprogrammed themselves to believe that it is impossible for them to lose any election except by fraud.

The danger comes not only from isolated kooks who get their news from Rudy Giuliani news conferences. Last week in Georgia, the Republican-controlled state election board approved a measure that could unleash local election officials to do their own research and delay certifying vote counts (those that Trump doesn’t win outright, anyway).

Put aside for the moment that this new rule appears to be in conflict with longstanding Georgia law that requires certification in absence of a court challenge. The bigger problem here is in how we choose our president — via the Electoral College — and how much power that winner-take-all system gives a single state to influence the outcome of the entire election.

Americans experienced this firsthand in 2000, when the quirks of Florida’s ballot design allowed George W. Bush to win the whole state — and with it the White House — by a mere 537 votes . In 2016 and 2020, battleground states like Arizona and Georgia were decided by extraordinarily tight margins; as Trump’s threatening phone call to the Georgia secretary of state demonstrated, a swing of just a few thousand votes would have shifted all 16 of the state’s electoral votes from Joe Biden to him.

Thankfully, key election officials that year put their civic obligations above their partisan preferences, ensuring that the vote count in 2020 was reliable. Today, most local election officials and poll workers are still honest, hardworking citizens doing a thankless job. But as political rhetoric becomes more toxic and infused with partisanship, many of those workers are leaving or being driven out, replaced by single-minded people with a partisan agenda instead of a patriotic spirit.

None of this would be an issue under a national popular vote. Biden eked out his 2020 win in the Electoral College, but all together he won seven million more votes than Trump. A few dozen or hundred or even a few thousand well-placed votes would not have made any difference. In 2000, 2016 and 2020, of course, they made all the difference.

Neel V. Patel

Discovering Life on Mars Should Be NASA’s Top Priority

In the last decade, scientists have found evidence of liquid water pooling up seasonally on the surface of Mars in scant amounts. They’ve also seen indications that there are huge reservoirs of water deep underground. This week, researchers published more evidence to suggest there’s a vast ocean of water seven to 13 miles below the planet’s surface.

Where there’s water, there’s the potential to find signs of life, but scientists won’t know if there’s life in that water unless they get a chance to study Mars’s water up close. Based on NASA’s current priorities, the opportunities for them to do so seem very, very distant.

NASA does many things, but its crown jewel programs are focused on human exploration of outer space. In recent years, the agency’s Artemis program, intended to return American astronauts to the moon, has been given a greater priority than Mars exploration. Since its inception in 2017, Artemis has been mired in delays and its centerpiece technologies have come under enormous scrutiny for billions in overrun costs. The first Artemis flight with a crew is supposed to take place in September 2025, followed by a human landing on the moon in 2026 and, eventually, a sustainable, permanent moon base.

But it’s unlikely that this timeline will hold , given frequent hardware snags and testing delays . To make matters worse, NASA recently canceled VIPER, a lunar rover mission meant to look for ice at the moon’s south pole, a prerequisite for a lunar base. The agency already spent $450 million on the mission; the rover, already built, is now destined to collect dust.

It’s not as if all this sunk cost came at the behest of the American public. A 2023 Pew survey found that only 12 percent of Americans believe sending astronauts back to the moon should be a top priority for the agency. Just 11 percent say the same about sending humans to Mars.

But the possibility of life on Mars grows stronger and stronger with every finding. The Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have found tremendous evidence of complex organics on the planet. Combined with water, there is so much rich potential that life on Mars once existed. Maybe it still does. But scientists won’t know unless space agencies start building and launching scientific missions with the express purpose of finding out.

Sending humans to extraterrestrial worlds is not a worthless goal. But this achievement pales in comparison to answering the question of whether we are alone — an answer that would change how humanity thinks about its place in this universe. Attaining that knowledge would be a worthwhile mission for an agency renowned for achieving what was once unimaginable.

Harris’s Economic Plans: The Good, the Bad and the Unnecessary

I understand why Vice President Kamala Harris is going hard against inflation. Politically, it’s the right thing to do. Economically, though, she’s like a general fighting the last war.

Prices are rising much more slowly, mostly because economic growth is cooling. On Wednesday the government announced that consumer prices rose just 2.9 percent in the 12 months through July, the lowest annual increase since 2021.

Inflation is headed lower even if the White House does nothing: Economists surveyed by Blue Chip Economic Indicators this month predicted the Consumer Price Index would rise just 2.3 percent in 2025 from 2024.

Better yet, the economists predicted that the personal consumption expenditures price index — the one targeted by the Federal Reserve — will rise just 2.1 percent next year. That’s a mere tenth of a point above the Fed’s target.

In other words, inflation is more or less a solved problem. Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, could do nothing more than stand at a podium and declare that high inflation is history, and she would be right — already now, and even more in the future.

But political considerations won’t allow Harris to be nearly so calm. Voters are still angry about the inflationary burst of 2022 and 2023.

The problem is that some of the things that Harris wants to do to protect voters could end up being counterproductive. We will hear more about her ideas in a speech planned for Friday in Raleigh, N.C., but what she has spoken about so far is a mix of pretty good and pretty bad ideas.

On the good side, I’d list an expanded child tax credit, which, depending on how it’s structured, could lift 400,000 children above the poverty line. She may also call for incentives to get state and local governments to build more affordable housing, which is badly needed.

I’m much less enthusiastic about Harris’s agreement with Donald Trump that tip income for service and hospitality workers should be exempted from federal income tax. It wouldn’t help lower-income workers who don’t get tips or tipped workers who already don’t pay federal income tax. And it would encourage employers to shift more workers into getting paid partly with tips, which is unsteady compared with a fixed wage.

I also think Harris’s campaign against “price gouging” is misplaced. Not every price increase, even one that increases a company’s profit, should be regarded as potentially criminal. The best fix for high prices is promoting competition, not prosecution. I hope that will be a big focus of Harris’s speech on Friday.

Zeynep Tufekci

Wealthy Nations Must Prioritize the Global Fight Against Mpox

The W.H.O. has declared a new global public health emergency for an outbreak of deadly mpox, primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In response, wealthy nations must do everything possible to stop the disease’s spread.

Mpox, formerly known as the monkeypox virus, made the news in 2022 when a global outbreak, including in the United States, prompted a public health emergency. But by May 2023, cases in wealthy nations had receded, largely because of vaccination drives and behavior change among those most at risk of contracting the virus. The W.H.O. ended that mpox emergency.

But the virus hadn’t disappeared, and it’s now back on the rise, potentially with a vengeance.

The mpox virus has two types : a much deadlier Clade I and a less severe Clade II. In 2022, the United States experienced an outbreak of Clade II. But lacking support for eradication efforts, including vaccination drives, Clade II simmered in African countries. Worse, Clade I — estimated to have a 3 percent to 6 percent fatality rate — also spread, though it was confined to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite all the global attention heaped on this disease at the time, African countries never received enough vaccines or sufficient support to eradicate the virus.

Now, Clade I cases are sharply on the rise in Congo, where the disease has claimed the lives of more than a thousand people, most of them children . It has reached more urban areas . Cases have begun to pop up in other African countries, including Burundi, Kenya and Uganda.

So far, wealthy nations have failed to send enough vaccines to counter the disease’s quick spread. The African Union’s health agency Africa C.D.C. has said it has only about 200,000 mpox vaccine doses available out of the 10 million needed. The global vaccine alliance GAVI told Reuters it needs $84 million to respond in areas at most risk, but it has raised only $8 million.

But providing vaccines alone is not enough. In Congo, stigma, regulatory obstacles and other crises — including measles and cholera outbreaks — have made a coordinated response difficult. The country finally approved two mpox vaccines just a few weeks ago, Reuters reported , but it has only about 65,000 vaccines available in the short term (for a population of about 100 million people) and vaccination campaigns appear unlikely to begin before October. Comprehensive international support may be the only thing that could beat back the disease.

Will we get it right this time around? If not, the United States and the rest of the world may get an unfortunate shot at a Round 2 of the virus too, perhaps in its much deadlier form.

Harris Shouldn’t Forget That Democracy Is Still on the Ballot

Kamala Harris is running an artful campaign so far, thanks in part to her upbeat, hopeful message. She has shrewdly positioned herself as the change candidate — no small feat for a sitting vice president — and has tagged Donald Trump as representing the weird past we should leave behind.

In her often joyful stump speech, Harris talks more about freedom than about threats to democracy. That makes strategic sense. Polls show that voters are more concerned with specific issues than about the specter of authoritarian government. But going too far in this direction risks letting some of the terrifying stakes move to the periphery of the campaign. Defending democracy was a potent issue for Democrats in avoiding a red wave in 2022, and it should remain a critical part of their argument.

It’s smart to make fun of Trump and treat him like a loser, which gets inside his head and causes more unforced errors. But jibes about his Willie Brown helicopter fantasies and crowd size nonsense should be matched with reminders that Trump inspires violence (including the attack on Paul Pelosi and Trump’s vile jokes about it), has promised to be “a dictator” on his first day and proposed the “termination” of the Constitution.

Democrats shouldn’t forget to emphasize that Trump said Russia could “ do whatever the hell they want ” to NATO countries that displeased him, a position that, as his own former aides say, could cause a world war.

While these arguments will not sway hard-core MAGA supporters, there are still plenty of undecided voters and Trump leaners who might yet be persuaded to consider Harris or at least stay home instead of reluctantly voting for Trump and JD Vance. Many have a little Liz Cheney in them that can be brought to the surface with a reasonable conversation.

So ask your uncle Bob: Would you like to see violent Jan. 6 protesters pardoned and the Jan. 6 Choir perform at Trump’s inauguration? Do you think the three living former Republican vice presidents — Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney and Mike Pence — were wrong to stay away from the Republican convention?

Meanwhile, a little naming and shaming wouldn’t hurt, including making sure the members of the Georgia Election Board who advocate Election Day chaos — and the more than 70 other election officials around the country who have said they would not certify the results if Harris won — hear from the other side. While almost no Fortune 500 chief executives are endorsing the Republican nominee (a big change from the past), Elon Musk and Steve Schwarzman are among those backing Trump. As they and too many others fail the character test of their generation, it’s up to the rest of us to call them out on it.

Parker Richards

Why Democrats Should Sing the Union’s Civil War Anthems

The Kamala Harris campaign has adopted a song by the recording artist Beyoncé (who has recently seen some mainstream success ) as its main musical anthem. But it shouldn’t stop there. The campaign could also go back in time and fully embrace a previous century’s patriotic musical heritage in a way that could unite progressives.

The right has recently seemed almost averse to a pre-eminent American flag, preferring corruptions like the so-called thin blue line flag. That provides an opportunity for liberals and progressives to reclaim the country’s iconography, and the next step is to remold and proudly sing the songs of the Civil War-era Union.

Crushing the breakaway slaveholding terror state known as the Confederacy — a nightmare built on America’s worst impulses — is among this country’s proudest moments. The music celebrating that victory is beautiful and patriotic — and already known to many Americans.

“ While We Were Marching Through Georgia ” and “ Union Dixie ” might be a stretch too far for the Harris campaign (though what could be more unifying, really, than bringing traitors back into the fold?), but “ The Battle Cry of Freedom ” and “ The Battle Hymn of the Republic ” are surely fitting.

“The Battle Hymn” is particularly evocative. Its lyrics, written by Julia Ward Howe in the midst of the Civil War, evoke peace and war alongside each other. The goal of a peaceful country, embracing equality as its purpose, goes hand in hand with its willingness to fight for that outcome: The “righteous sentence” can be enacted only by willingness to fight for it and to “make men free”; to that end, America’s musicians must “never call retreat.”

The song expresses a martial Christianity, an understanding that slavery was a sin and that it must be cleansed, by flame and sword and through a war comparable in its moral scope to the Crucifixion itself. It presents a redemptive, just vision of Christianity, one that — unlike the exclusionary narrative advanced by Christian nationalists — seeks to use one faith tradition as a way to uplift rather than to repress.

And the Harris campaign seems to know this: At a rally in Eau Claire, Wis., this month, the folk band Bon Iver performed “ The Battle Cry of Freedom .” Surrounded by red, white and blue bunting, flags flying above, it presented an unabashedly patriotic vision of American liberalism writ large. It’s an image with appeal across party lines, like Abraham Lincoln’s 1864 “National Union” electoral alliance, which combined Republicans, Democrats and Unconditional Unionists into one bloc to support the continued war against slavery and secessionism.

Music has power. It can convey ideological messages, appeal to a mass audience and carry through lines in politics across decades or even centuries better than any other form. As the Jacobite movement of the 18th century used its songcraft to carry a proscribed ideology to a mass audience, Harris and her party have a unique opportunity to use America’s auditory history to build the iconography of a 21st-century political movement. They should seize it — as they trample out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.

Liriel Higa

Opinion Audience Director

Let Jordan Chiles Keep Her Bronze Medal

What has become the most notable epic fail of the Paris Olympics began with heartbreak. Ana Barbosu, a Romanian gymnast, appeared to place third in the floor event finals of the artistic gymnastics competition and prematurely celebrated her victory. Moments later, she wept as another gymnast moved into bronze medal position.

Jordan Chiles, Barbosu’s American competitor, initially appeared to place fifth in the competition. But after an inquiry by her coach, the judges agreed that Chiles deserved full credit for a leap they hadn’t scored and bumped her up to third place, above Barbosu and another Romanian gymnast, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. The two Romanians had, in fact, received the same overall score, but in a tiebreaker, Barbosu was ranked higher based on her higher execution score.

The online backlash against Chiles’s bronze medal win was immediate, intense and unwarranted. But the slipshod nature of what has become a seemingly endless saga of inquiries and international rulings has cast a shadow over what should have been the sporting career highlight for three tremendous gymnasts.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, an international body that settles disputes in international sporting competitions. It ruled that Chiles’s coach’s inquiry had come four seconds too late, voiding her appeal and revised score. The panel then ruled that the International Gymnastics Federation should determine the final ranking of the gymnasts. The federation subsequently passed the decision on to the International Olympic Committee, which has stripped Chiles of her bronze.

There are additional complicating factors in this murky moral mess, including whether Chiles’s coach had in fact submitted the inquiry too late or whether Maneca-Voinea, the other Romanian, should not have received an out-of-bounds deduction that lowered her score. (Video replays showed that she did not step out of bounds.) If the judges had awarded Chiles full credit for her leap and more accurately scored Maneca-Voinea, then Maneca-Voinea would have finished third, Chiles fourth and Barbosu fifth.

There’s also a timeliness factor: If the Chiles inquiry was indeed too late, then it should not have been accepted. But it was accepted, and now the International Olympic Committee has decided to take back a bronze medal days after it was awarded, a dishonor usually reserved for athletes who have doped.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation has proposed a solution that would ameliorate the mistakes made by officials that make sense: rank all three gymnasts third and give them all bronze medals. There is precedent for awarding duplicate medals (albeit in figure skating ), and such a move would duly acknowledge that these three gymnasts were failed more by their judges than their own skill.

For sports like gymnastics, which are arbitrated by judges instead of, say, the click of a finish line camera, crediting gymnasts with the appropriate difficulty levels and accurately determining whether they stayed in bounds is crucial for the sport to function fairly. Given the incompetence of these officials, awarding each of these athletes a medal would be the most just outcome.

Paul Krugman

Inflation: Put a Pork in It

The data keep telling us that inflation is basically over as a problem.

On Tuesday morning we got the latest report on producer prices , and it was “soft.” That’s a good indicator for the much more widely watched Consumer Price Index, which we’ll get Wednesday. More important, the details in the report were especially encouraging for yet another price index, personal consumption expenditures, which won’t be released until later this month but which the Federal Reserve prefers as a basis for monetary policy.

This report follows some good news about inflation expectations.

Economists generally believe that the stagflation of the 1970s was so hard to end, requiring years of high unemployment, because expectations of continuing high inflation had become entrenched among businesses and consumers. Two years ago, when inflation was near its recent peak, I argued that disinflation would be much easier this time because it wasn’t similarly entrenched.

I was right. In fact, on Monday the widely followed New York Fed survey of consumer expectations found that expected inflation over the next three years has fallen to its lowest level since the survey began in 2013:

Still, some people are having a hard time letting go of the narrative that America is suffering from runaway inflation. Among those people, of course, is Donald Trump, who ranted about consumer prices in Monday night’s conversation with Elon Musk .

I continue to be especially struck by Trump’s odd obsession with the price of bacon, which he insists costs “four or five times more than it did a few years ago.” This simply isn’t true. Indeed, while bacon prices are up, most workers’ wages are up considerably more:

Honestly, I find Trump’s delusions about smoked pork harder to understand than his conspiracy theories about crowd sizes. After all, grocery prices are part of everyday experience, and easy to check. Why haven’t some big, strong men with tears in their eyes come up to him to say, “Sir, you’re wrong about bacon”?

The Problem Is Not A.I. It’s the Disbelief Created by Trump.

Current artificial intelligence technologies have become surprisingly good at creating realistic images and video, unleashing fears that fake images can be used for political and election manipulation.

Well, yes and no.

Fake A.I. imagery is a challenging problem, and not simply because it looks realistic. The key issue is that these images muddy the waters of credibility for everyone while providing a handy excuse for political operatives willing to lie to their supporters already eager to believe the lie.

Take Donald Trump’s social media post on Sunday in which he accused Kamala Harris’s campaign of manipulating an image to make her crowd seem bigger at a Detroit airplane hangar last week.

“Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport?” he wrote. “There was nobody at the plane, and she ‘A.I.’d’ it, and showed a massive ‘crowd’ of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST!”

How do we know an image is real in this day and age? An average person can no longer be certain of the authenticity of images or, increasingly, even videos through individual sleuthing. The A.I. is that good and is getting better. (That’s why the classic media literacy advice — do your own research — doesn’t work anymore.)

This makes it difficult to know what to believe, except through a key mechanism: trusting sources and trusting that they have either taken the image or video themselves or carefully vetted it as authentic.

That’s how we know that the crowd waiting for Harris was real, because there are pictures from photo agencies like Getty, as well as images and reports from multiple other news organizations that were on the tarmac, that match the circulating social media photos that caught Trump’s ire. We know that credible news organizations and photo agencies have very strict rules about images and videos. But that, in turn, requires trusting the photo agency or other media source furnishing the image or video.

While this made-up falsity by Trump & other right-wing provocateurs are posted/viewed by millions, here is video taken by @NnamEgwuon of the Michigan rally — not that this needs to be proven true: pic.twitter.com/Ul1IdyJ0RW https://t.co/MhJYG4As9e — Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) August 11, 2024

It’s no accident that Trump has made it a habit to portray credible news organizations as untrustworthy liars, and many of his supporters seem to have internalized that message they were open to in the first place.

Once trust is lost and all credibility is questioned, the lie doesn’t have to be high quality. It doesn’t have to be supported by highly realistic fake A.I. It doesn’t have to be so easily disprovable. To work, the lie just needs a willing purveyor and an eager audience. The A.I., then, is but a fig leaf.

The U.S. Wasn’t the Most Successful Country at the Olympics

China and the United States tied for gold medals at 40 apiece, and the United States had more medals overall, but the most successful nation at the Paris Olympics was Australia. France was second, followed by Britain and the Netherlands, with the United States coming in fifth and China 89th.

That’s according to a new ranking method that I wrote about ahead of the Games. Its inventors, Robert Duncan and Andrew Parece, wanted a method that wouldn’t overly favor the most-populous nations, but also wouldn’t give the top ranking every four years to a small country that gets a medal or two. (This year Grenada, with two medals, had the most per capita, followed by Dominica and St. Lucia.)

Australia tends to do well by their method. It also came out on top in the Tokyo Games. (It bears repeating, of course, that there is no official national winner, because the Games are a competition among athletes, not countries.)

The Duncan-Parece method ranks countries according to how improbable their medal counts are, on the assumption that all medal-winning nations have an equal propensity per capita for winning medals.

As they wrote in their paper on the subject: “We simply ask: how probable is it, in this idealization, for a given high-performing country (with a given population) to have won as many medals as it actually did, or more medals?”

Their measure of improbability is the one you would use to calculate the likelihood of flipping heads, say, 10 times in a row.

There seems to be growing interest in the subject. Duncan emailed me on Sunday to say that people from 153 countries had visited their website, olympicnationalrankings.com .

Katherine Miller

Opinion Writer and Editor

The Race Is On to Define Kamala Harris

Where the candidates physically are and what they’re up to: On Wednesday, Donald Trump is expected to hold a rally in Asheville, N.C., and JD Vance plans to campaign near Grand Rapids, Mich. Kamala Harris has not yet released information about upcoming events but did say over the weekend that her campaign would release an economic policy proposal this week.

Everything changes so fast right now that taking stock of the race can feel like an ephemeral pursuit, but in a series of polls, including the New York Times/Siena poll, Harris has either pulled even with Trump or has moved ahead in some places.

At the very least, the campaign has been reset to a toss-up, compared with the anemic state of President Biden’s polling against Trump. Nate Cohn of The Times observed in a sharp thread on Twitter over the weekend that people’s perception of Harris wasn’t totally stable — it’s changed in the last few weeks as she’s become more popular, and could change again. But, he added, “at least for now, we’re getting a reminder of what happens when the Democrats nominate a broadly acceptable candidate against Trump and his allies: They do pretty well.”

Harris is known to people, but is also totally new as a candidate. One place that the idea of Harris is being shaped for people, especially in battlegrounds, is on TV and in digital advertising. The first weekend of the Olympics, I was in A Battleground State for the weekend, and could see it in real time: It felt as if each commercial break alternated between “Kamala Harris is good” and “Kamala Harris is bad.”

The emphasis in the negative advertising was on the border especially .

Pro-Trump group MAGA Inc. is up on TV with this spot -- Features clip of Harris: "I am radical, I do believe that we need to get radical" pic.twitter.com/fqCXnE5MNt — Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) August 7, 2024

The emphasis in the positive advertising was on reintroducing Harris and her bio, including her time as a prosecutor . The Trump campaign and allies have also tried out more of a San Francisco radical theme .

And the Harris campaign is also up with this spot -- pic.twitter.com/fr8iR52uOf — Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) August 9, 2024

As more of Harris’s campaign gets locked in, it has expanded the portfolio of ads running: There are multiple versions of a bio ad that foregrounds her upbringing and middle-class economics (a big focus of the campaign so far) and an ad where she promises, as president, to hire more border agents . Next up in reintroducing Harris and her priorities will be the Democratic convention, which begins next week.