Use reported speech to tell someone what another person said. The reporting verb (said, told, asked) is usually in the past, and the tense of the original speech shifts back.
Direct: "I have been shortlisted."
Reported: She said (that) she had been shortlisted.
Direct: "We are looking for someone with experience."
Reported: They told me they were looking for someone with experience.
Direct speech
Reported speech
present simple → "I work here."
past simple → He said he worked there.
present continuous → "I am applying."
past continuous → She said she was applying.
present perfect → "I have resigned."
past perfect → He said he had resigned.
past simple → "I sent the email."
past perfect → She said she had sent the email.
will → "I will call you."
would → He said he would call me.
can → "I can start on Monday."
could → She said she could start on Monday.
Use told + object: She told me she was leaving. Use said without an object or with to: She said she was leaving / She said to me she was leaving. For reported questions, use asked + if/whether or a question word, with normal word order: He asked if I had experience.
Grammar exercises
Reading
Read the article carefully, then answer the questions.
The changing world of work
Five years ago, most office workers would have said they needed to be in the office every day. Today, the picture has changed completely. A recent survey found that over sixty per cent of employees said they preferred a hybrid working arrangement — some days at home, some in the office. Many told researchers that flexible working had improved both their productivity and their wellbeing.
Employers, however, have been slower to agree. Some managers have said that remote work makes it harder to build team culture and to mentor junior staff. A number of large companies have recently announced that they were requiring all employees to return to the office full-time, a decision that many workers said they strongly opposed.
The debate has also highlighted questions about career progression. Some employees have said that working from home made them feel invisible — that they were being overlooked for promotions because they were not seen in the office. Others argued that they had been more productive at home and told their managers they expected this to be recognised in their appraisals.
What seems clear is that the expectations of workers have shifted permanently. A generation of employees has now experienced flexible working and said they would not accept a role that did not offer it. For employers, the challenge is finding an arrangement that works for everyone — or risk losing their best people to rivals who will.
Comprehension questions
Certificate of completion
Unit 15: Work and Career
B1 Intermediate English Course · EnglishGrammarPractice.com
Apply tense backshift correctly in reported speech
Understand conversations and texts about work and career
Write a paragraph using reported speech to retell a conversation
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Writing
Guided writing task.
Task: Work experience paragraph
Write a paragraph (80-120 words) describing a job interview or work experience. Use reported speech with said, told, and asked.
Report what the interviewer or manager said
Report a question that was asked
Apply tense backshift correctly
Use work and career vocabulary from this unit
0 words
Model answer
During my appraisal last month, my manager told me that my performance had improved significantly over the past year. She said that she was very pleased with how I had handled the new project and that she would recommend me for a promotion. She asked me whether I had considered taking on more responsibilities and whether I was interested in managing a small team. I told her that I had been thinking about it and that I would be very interested. She explained that the notice period for the new role was three months and that I would need to be shortlisted by the end of the week.