She said she to go home.
Be careful: “said” and “told” have a small difference.
After “told,” we need to include a person:
About the author.
Shayna Oliveira is the founder of Espresso English, where you can improve your English fast - even if you don’t have much time to study. Millions of students are learning English from her clear, friendly, and practical lessons! Shayna is a CELTA-certified teacher with 10+ years of experience helping English learners become more fluent in her English courses.
The English Bureau
English for IELTS, Business & Advanced
13th September 2019 By Alex Markham Leave a Comment
We use reported speech when we report what another person has said. This means we report on the meaning of what was said rather than use the exact same words as the speaker.
When using reported speech , we need to change the verb tenses, word order and pronouns to report what was said rather than just repeat how it was said.
Reported speech is often required in everyday English and Business English. It typically uses a standard structure, using one verb from of a group of reporting verbs.
The most common way to form reported speech is the following:
We begin reported statements with the name of the person or people whose speech we’re reporting or their pronoun. This is followed by a reporting verb in the past tense, such as said, told or asked . The verb may then be followed by the conjunction that or often with this conjunction implied rather than spoken.
We then report what the person said by repeating the pronoun and using the past tense of the verb they used when they spoke.
Noun/pronoun + reporting verb + (that) + pronoun + past tense
For example:
This is the most common form although there are also some alternative forms – see the Reporting Verb list below.
The three examples above show how we have changed the noun/pronoun to reflect the position of the person reporting with respect to the person or people who spoke.
We can also see how we change the verb tense of what was said to a past tense. So after a reporting verb in the past (said, told, ask etc.) we make the following changes to the verb we are reporting on:
Where the verb being reported is a model verb, we change it to the preterite version of the modal. Can – could, may – might, will-would, shall-should.
In some circumstances, when what is being reported is still valid or current, we keep the reported verb in the same tense:
We generally use a specific group of reporting verbs for reported speech. Here’s a list of the most common:
When reporting what someone else has said, we could use direct speech such as, John said “I don’t like cabbage” . However, reported speech, John said he didn’t like cabbage , is easier and more common.
Reported speech is a more efficient use of saying what someone said; outside of writing novels.
If you found this post useful, please share this image below.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .
All content on the site, including personal photographs, is © Alexander Markham 2019
Privacy Policy
ENGLISH 4U English Language Learning
Change of the tenses.
If the reporting verb is in the past form (said, told,...), you have to change the tense .
Direct speech Present simple Present progressive Past simple Past progressive Present perfect simple Present perfect progr. Future |
| Direct Speech go am/is/are going went was/were going has/have gone has/have been going will go |
|
Example: Peter said, "Carol is a nice girl." Peter said (that) Carol was a nice girl.
Don't change these verbs: might, could, would, should
He said, "I might arrive late." He said (that) he might arrive late.
It isn't necessary to change the present tense into the past tense if the information in the direct speech is still true or a general statement .
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.
When you form the reported speech, you have to pay attention that the pronouns refer to the correct persons.
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.
Direct speech | Indirect speech | |
She said | I - my - me | she - her - her |
He said | I - my - me | he - his - him |
They said | we - our - us | they - their - them |
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.
Direct speech | |
now | |
today | |
yesterday | |
tomorrow | |
last week, month,... | |
next week, month,... | |
a (week,...) ago | |
here | |
this | |
these |
Example: She said, "I have already seen Carol today ." She said (that) she had already seen Carol that day .
If there is a question word , we keep it.
They asked me, " Where is the next supermarket?" They asked me where the next supermarket was.
She asked them, " How often do you play golf?" She asked them how often they played golf.
If there is no question word , we start the reported speech with if or whether .
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.
If someone asks you in a polite way, use (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.
If someone doesn't ask you politely or gives you an order, use (not) to + infinitive .
She told us, "Don't stay up too late!" She told us not to stay up too late.
Reported Speech Exercise 1 - statements - mixed tenses
Reported Speech Exercise 2 - statements - present tense
Reported Speech Exercise 3 - statements - present tense
Reported Speech Exercise 4 - statements - mixed tenses
Reported Speech Exercise 5 - statements - mixed tenses
Reported Speech Exercise 6 - statements, questions, commands
Reported Speech Exercise 7 - statements, questions, commands
Reported Speech Exercise 8 - questions, commands
Reported Speech Exercise 9 - questions, commands
Reported Speech Exercise 10 - statements, questions, commands
CONTACT / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy / SITEMAP
© Copyright 2001-2024 Herwig Rothländer - All Rights Reserved
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.
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: 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: 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 quiz.
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.
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.
Subject said that (report whatever the speaker said) |
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.
I | He, she |
Me | Him, her |
We | They |
Us | Them |
You | He, she, they |
You | Him, her, them |
My | His, her |
Mine | His, hers |
Our | Their |
Ours | Theirs |
Your | His, her, their |
Yours | His, hers, theirs |
This | That |
These | Those |
Here | There |
Now | Then |
Today | That day |
Tomorrow | The next day / The following day |
Yesterday | The previous day |
Tonight | That night |
Last week | The week before |
Next week | The week after |
Last month | The previous month |
Next month | The following month |
Last year | The previous year |
Next year | The following year |
Ago | Before |
Thus | So |
Simple Present Example: Preethi said, “I cook pasta.” | Simple Past Example: Preethi said that she cooked pasta. |
Present Continuous Example: Preethi said, “I am cooking pasta.” | Past Continuous Example: Preethi said that she was cooking pasta. |
Present Perfect Example: Preethi said, “I have cooked pasta.” | Past Perfect Example: Preethi said that she had cooked pasta. |
Present Perfect Example: Preethi said, “I have been cooking pasta.” | Past Perfect Continuous Example: Preethi said that she had been cooking pasta. |
Simple Past Example: Preethi said, “I cooked pasta.” | Past Perfect Example: Preethi said that she had cooked pasta. |
Past Continuous Example: Preethi said, “I was cooking pasta.” | Past Perfect Continuous Example: Preethi said that she had been cooking pasta. |
Past Perfect Example: Preethi said, “I had cooked pasta.” | Past Perfect (No change) Example: Preethi said that she had cooked pasta. |
Past Perfect Continuous Example: Preethi said, “I had been cooking pasta.” | Past Perfect Continuous (No change) Example: Preethi said that she had been cooking pasta. |
Will | Would |
May | Might |
Can | Could |
Shall | Should |
Has/Have | Had |
Here are some tips you can follow to become a pro in using reported speech.
Given below are a few examples to show you how reported speech can be written. Check them out.
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 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.”
You can use the following formula to construct a sentence in the reported speech. Subject said that (report whatever the speaker said)
Given below are a few examples to show you how reported speech can be written.
ENGLISH Related Links | |
Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Request OTP on Voice Call
Post My Comment
Register with byju's & watch live videos.
Reported speech is how we represent the speech of other people or what we ourselves say. There are two main types of reported speech: direct speech and indirect speech.
Direct speech repeats the exact words the person used, or how we remember their words:
Barbara said, “I didn’t realise it was midnight.”
In indirect speech, the original speaker’s words are changed.
Barbara said she hadn’t realised it was midnight .
In this example, I becomes she and the verb tense reflects the fact that time has passed since the words were spoken: didn’t realise becomes hadn’t realised .
Indirect speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words:
“I’m sorry,” said Mark. (direct)
Mark apologised . (indirect: report of a speech act)
In a similar way, we can report what people wrote or thought:
‘I will love you forever,’ he wrote, and then posted the note through Alice’s door. (direct report of what someone wrote)
He wrote that he would love her forever , and then posted the note through Alice’s door. (indirect report of what someone wrote)
I need a new direction in life , she thought. (direct report of someone’s thoughts)
She thought that she needed a new direction in life . (indirect report of someone’s thoughts)
Reported speech: direct speech
Reported speech: indirect speech
Speech reports consist of two parts: the reporting clause and the reported clause. The reporting clause includes a verb such as say, tell, ask, reply, shout , usually in the past simple, and the reported clause includes what the original speaker said.
reporting clause | reported clause |
, | |
, | |
me |
Direct speech.
In direct speech we usually put a comma between the reporting clause and the reported clause. The words of the original speaker are enclosed in inverted commas, either single (‘…’) or double (“…”). If the reported clause comes first, we put the comma inside the inverted commas:
“ I couldn’t sleep last night, ” he said.
Rita said, ‘ I don’t need you any more. ’
If the direct speech is a question or exclamation, we use a question mark or exclamation mark, not a comma:
‘Is there a reason for this ? ’ she asked.
“I hate you ! ” he shouted.
We sometimes use a colon (:) between the reporting clause and the reported clause when the reporting clause is first:
The officer replied: ‘It is not possible to see the General. He’s busy.’
Punctuation
In indirect speech it is more common for the reporting clause to come first. When the reporting clause is first, we don’t put a comma between the reporting clause and the reported clause. When the reporting clause comes after the reported clause, we use a comma to separate the two parts:
She told me they had left her without any money.
Not: She told me, they had left her without any money .
Nobody had gone in or out during the previous hour, he informed us.
We don’t use question marks or exclamation marks in indirect reports of questions and exclamations:
He asked me why I was so upset.
Not: He asked me why I was so upset?
Say and tell.
We can use say and tell to report statements in direct speech, but say is more common. We don’t always mention the person being spoken to with say , but if we do mention them, we use a prepositional phrase with to ( to me, to Lorna ):
‘I’ll give you a ring tomorrow,’ she said .
‘Try to stay calm,’ she said to us in a low voice.
Not: ‘Try to stay calm,’ she said us in a low voice .
With tell , we always mention the person being spoken to; we use an indirect object (underlined):
‘Enjoy yourselves,’ he told them .
Not: ‘Enjoy yourselves,’ he told .
In indirect speech, say and tell are both common as reporting verbs. We don’t use an indirect object with say , but we always use an indirect object (underlined) with tell :
He said he was moving to New Zealand.
Not: He said me he was moving to New Zealand .
He told me he was moving to New Zealand.
Not: He told he was moving to New Zealand .
We use say , but not tell , to report questions:
‘Are you going now?’ she said .
Not: ‘Are you going now?’ she told me .
We use say , not tell , to report greetings, congratulations and other wishes:
‘Happy birthday!’ she said .
Not: Happy birthday!’ she told me .
Everyone said good luck to me as I went into the interview.
Not: Everyone told me good luck …
Say or tell ?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| (= ) |
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
The reporting verbs in this list are more common in indirect reports, in both speaking and writing:
Simon admitted that he had forgotten to email Andrea.
Louis always maintains that there is royal blood in his family.
The builder pointed out that the roof was in very poor condition.
Most of the verbs in the list are used in direct speech reports in written texts such as novels and newspaper reports. In ordinary conversation, we don’t use them in direct speech. The reporting clause usually comes second, but can sometimes come first:
‘Who is that person?’ she asked .
‘It was my fault,’ he confessed .
‘There is no cause for alarm,’ the Minister insisted .
Verb patterns: verb + that -clause
Word of the Day
sink or swim
If you are left to sink or swim, you are given no help so that you succeed or fail completely by your own efforts.
Fakes and forgeries (Things that are not what they seem to be)
To add ${headword} to a word list please sign up or log in.
Add ${headword} to one of your lists below, or create a new one.
{{message}}
Something went wrong.
There was a problem sending your report.
Confirm Password *
By registering, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . *
Username or email *
Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link and will create a new password via email.
Sorry, you do not have permission to ask a question, You must login to ask a question.
Please briefly explain why you feel this question should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this answer should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this user should be reported.
English notes latest questions, he said to us, “when are you leaving” change into indirect speech.
Indirect Speech: He asked us when we were leaving.
Explanation: When the reporting verb is in the past (said) and the direct speech is in the present continuous tense, then the indirect (reported) speech will change into the past continuous tense.
Present Continuous Tense > Past Continuous Tense.
And if the sentence is interrogative, we use the reporting verbs – asked, enquired, etc.
Learn Narration
You must login to add an answer.
Reported speech
Time and place must often change when going from direct to reported speech (indirect speech).
Phrase in direct speech | Equivalent in reported speech |
---|---|
"I saw him ", she said. | She said that she had seen him . |
"I saw him ", she said. | She said that she had seen him . |
"I met her ", he said. | He said that he had met her . |
"I'll see you ", he said | He said that he would see me . |
"We'll come ", they said. | They said that they would come . |
"I have an appointment ", she said. | She said that she had an appointment . |
"I was on holiday ", he told us. | He told us that he had been on holiday . |
"I saw her ," he said. | He said he had seen her . |
"I'm getting a new car ", she said. | She said she was getting a new car . |
"Do you like ?" he asked | He asked if I liked . |
He said, "I live ". | He told me he lived . |
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:
Here are some common place words, showing how you change them for reported speech:
direct speech | indirect speech |
---|---|
here | there, in Starbucks |
this | that |
this book | the book, that book, |
in this room | in the room, in that room, in the kitchen |
Advertisement
Supported by
The Editorial Board
By The Editorial Board
The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values . It is separate from the newsroom.
President Biden has repeatedly and rightfully described the stakes in this November’s presidential election as nothing less than the future of American democracy.
Donald Trump has proved himself to be a significant jeopardy to that democracy — an erratic and self-interested figure unworthy of the public trust. He systematically attempted to undermine the integrity of elections. His supporters have described, publicly, a 2025 agenda that would give him the power to carry out the most extreme of his promises and threats. If he is returned to office, he has vowed to be a different kind of president, unrestrained by the checks on power built into the American political system.
Mr. Biden has said that he is the candidate with the best chance of taking on this threat of tyranny and defeating it. His argument rests largely on the fact that he beat Mr. Trump in 2020. That is no longer a sufficient rationale for why Mr. Biden should be the Democratic nominee this year.
At Thursday’s debate, the president needed to convince the American public that he was equal to the formidable demands of the office he is seeking to hold for another term. Voters, however, cannot be expected to ignore what was instead plain to see: Mr. Biden is not the man he was four years ago.
The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant. He struggled to explain what he would accomplish in a second term. He struggled to respond to Mr. Trump’s provocations. He struggled to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his lies, his failures and his chilling plans. More than once, he struggled to make it to the end of a sentence.
Mr. Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has prospered and begun to address a range of long-term challenges, and the wounds ripped open by Mr. Trump have begun to heal. But the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in .
Want all of The Times? Subscribe .
Making a change would be far from easy, despite concerns about President Biden’s debate performance. But here’s who has surfaced before — and could again.
The Democratic Party has spent much of the 2024 campaign burying its head in the sand over Americans’ concerns about President Biden’s age and mental sharpness. Rather than reckon with the problem, its most influential voices have cast it as an overblown media construct.
But the party abruptly jerked its head out of that sand Thursday night, after a meandering, occasionally incoherent and almost universally panned first-debate performance from Biden . At its most pronounced, this has led to calls for Biden to step aside, including from those loyal to him.
That instantaneous reaction is hugely significant, in and of itself. It’s the kind of conversation you avoid — and the party has strained to avoid — until you view it as absolutely necessary. Going there and then having Biden stay would only damage him further, because a bunch of allies would have said either implicitly or explicitly that he is not up to the task.
It’s truly a desperate plan and one that features many hurdles . It would almost surely require Biden’s assent to step aside — he holds almost all of the pledged delegates to August’s Democratic National Convention — and even then the process for replacing him is fraught . It’s not even clear that an alternative would render the party better off.
But it’s a prospect that the party has given some consideration, dating back to when Biden had yet to announce his reelection campaign last year. Names were floated as alternatives or even primary challengers.
So, should the party go this route, who would even make sense? Let’s recap some of the names that have been floated — along with their attributes and drawbacks.
It’s difficult to see how Harris wouldn’t be the alternative unless she, too, voluntarily steps aside. She is, after all, the vice president. And skipping over the first female and first Black vice president would be dicey for a party struggling to maintain its normally huge margins with Black voters — a major part of its base.
The problem is that Harris is about as unpopular as Biden is. Recent surveys from Monmouth University and Suffolk University have shown disapproval of her outpacing approval by 18 and 16 points , respectively. Harris’s own 2020 presidential campaign went poorly, and the party would have little faith that she would be a marked improvement over Biden.
Republicans have made little secret that they relish elevating Harris, with the Trump campaign even running an ad during Thursday’s debate pointing to the possibility that Harris would have to replace Biden as president at some point.
This is a name you’re likely to see plenty in the days ahead. The Michigan governor combines being an actually plausible alternative with looking almost ideal on paper.
She’s a female governor who hails from a crucial state (Democrats need to hold Midwestern swing states , given their problems in other swing states). She has won both of her races there by around 10 points. Polling this year has shown her approval rating in Michigan between 54 percent and 61 percent . And she’s more experienced and has more of a national profile than a lot of other rising-star Democratic governors, such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
After Harris, she would quickly rise to the top.
It’s perhaps an undersold fact that the transportation secretary nearly won both the Iowa and New Hampshire presidential nominating contests back in 2020 when he was just a mayor of a midsize Midwestern city (South Bend, Ind.). And if the party is looking for the antithesis of Biden’s inability to drive a message against Trump, it’s Buttigieg. His jousting with Fox News hosts and Republicans at congressional hearings is often shared widely in Democratic circles. He’s a gifted messenger.
If there’s a big drawback with Buttigieg, it’s that he appears to be the wrong candidate to try to arrest the Democratic ticket’s apparent problem with diverse — and especially Black — voters. He got very little support from such groups in 2020.
The Pennsylvania governor is one of the more intriguing rising stars in the national Democratic Party, earning plaudits for his big 2022 win and bipartisan credentials . He’s also, like Whitmer, quite popular in a crucial state for the Democratic ticket. Even more than 3 in 10 Trump supporters there like him , according to a poll this year. It’s hard to see how that doesn’t catch Democrats’ eye.
But Shapiro has largely been regarded as an option for 2028, having been governor for just a year and a half. He’s been in statewide office for a while, having previously served as state attorney general, but it would be a rapid rise.
The Colorado governor and former congressman has some of the same bipartisan bona fides as Shapiro. The nation’s first openly gay man to be elected governor has crafted a compelling record and has largely avoided getting bogged down in potentially problematic liberal policies. He has also won big — by double digits in 2018 and nearly 20 points in 2022.
And he has clearly expressed interest in going national one day .
Perhaps nobody has surfaced more as an alternative should Biden step aside than the California governor, owing in large part to his efforts to expand his national profile by mixing it up with national Republicans and GOP governors. On that front, Newsom would seem to have some of the same attributes as Buttigieg.
But it’s difficult to see the Democratic Party deciding that the recipe right now is a California governor and former mayor of San Francisco, a city Republicans would be only so happy to run against by pointing to its crime problem. It would be basically inviting Republicans to caricature the Democratic ticket.
The Georgia senator has won a key swing state twice now in a short time. And his stock would seem to be higher than that of other Black candidates who have graced lists like this in the past, such as Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.).
Warnock’s 2022 campaign, in particular, was seen as a road map for how Democrats could run in 2024. And with Democrats struggling to keep swing states outside the Midwest in play, picking someone who hails from one of them makes a lot of sense.
This is the fantasy option for Democrats — and we mean that in more than one way. She would seem to be the ideal alternative for many, but she also seems unlikely to run.
Obama is the most popular former first lady in America, dating back to Lady Bird Johnson, according to a late-2023 YouGov poll. She has also consistently been liked by a clear majority of Americans, which we can’t say for many political figures.
But she has professed basically no interest in running in her own right; going from that to waging a presidential campaign with just a few months to go is a huge stretch. We also learned this week about reported tensions between her and the Biden campaign .
It’s truly a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option. And the glass appears to be shatterproof.
The Minnesota senator would make the most sense if Democrats sought a candidate with many of the same attributes Biden has, minus the age problem. She is pragmatic and seemingly broadly agreeable. She has a strong electoral track record in her state.
But she still cuts a very limited national profile, and her 2020 presidential campaign didn’t gain much traction. If the name of the game is picking someone to take the fight to Trump, Minnesota Nice might not be the recipe.
Perhaps nobody’s stock has risen more in recent months. That owes to the fact that the Kentucky governor was up for reelection in 2023 and won in a very red state.
He has intriguing bipartisan appeal, and he has succeeded in his state without straying too much to the right. (We often see that Democratic governors in red states and GOP governors in blue states have to take positions that don’t comport with their national party.) He even played up his support for abortion rights during the 2023 campaign — something previously unthinkable.
He also reportedly is taking the kind of steps you would expect from someone with national ambitions . But it’s not clear how he would play with liberal base voters whom Democrats need to inject with enthusiasm.
Follow live updates from the 2024 campaign trail a day after President Biden and Donald Trump faced off in the first presidential debate of 2024. Here are takeaways and fact checks from the debate .
Who is running: President Biden and Donald Trump secured their parties’ nominations for the presidency . Here’s how we ended up with a Trump-Biden rematch .
Key dates and events: Voters in all states and U.S. territories have been choosing their party’s nominee for president ahead of the summer conventions. Here are key dates and events on the 2024 election calendar .
Abortion and the election: Voters in about a dozen states could decide the fate of abortion rights with constitutional amendments on the ballot in a pivotal election year. Biden supports legal access to abortion , and he has encouraged Congress to pass a law that would codify abortion rights nationwide. After months of mixed signals about his position, Trump said the issue should be left to states . Here’s how Biden’s and Trump’s abortion stances have shifted over the years.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected to discuss the future of his re-election campaign with family at Camp David on Sunday, following a nationally televised debate Thursday that left many fellow Democrats worried about his ability to beat former President Donald Trump in November, according to five people familiar with the matter.
Biden’s trip was planned before Thursday’s debate. He and first lady Jill Biden are scheduled to join their children and grandchildren there late Saturday.
So far, the party’s top leaders have offered public support for Biden, including in tweets posted by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton . Senior congressional Democrats , including Reps. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Nancy Pelosi of California, have privately expressed concerns about his viability, said two sources apprised of those discussions, even as they all publicly back the president.
One Democratic House member who believes Biden should drop out of the race — but has yet to call for that publicly — told NBC News that three colleagues expressed the same sentiment to him during votes on the House floor Friday.
House leaders have not wavered publicly, and their aides denied that they are expressing doubts behind closed doors.
“Speaker Pelosi has full confidence in President Biden and looks forward to attending his inauguration on January 20, 2025,” Ian Krager, a spokesman for the former House speaker said. “Any suggestion that she has engaged in a different course of action is simply not true.”
Christie Stephenson, a spokeswoman for Jeffries, the House minority leader, said her boss has “repeatedly made clear publicly and privately that he supports President Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket from top to bottom.”
Brianna Frias said that Clyburn, who is traveling to Wisconsin this weekend to campaign for the president, "has total confidence in President Joe Biden and the Biden-Harris ticket.
"Any reports alleging that the Congressman has expressed anything other than firm support of President Biden are completely untrue," Frias said.
At the same time, there is an understanding among top Democrats that Biden should be given space to determine next steps. They believe only the president, in consultation with his family, can decide whether to move forward or to end his campaign early — and that he won’t respond well to being pushed.
“The decision-makers are two people — it’s the president and his wife,” one of the sources familiar with the discussions said, adding: “Anyone who doesn’t understand how deeply personal and familial this decision will be isn’t knowledgeable about the situation.”
This account of a president and his party in crisis just a little more than four months before an election they say will determine the fate of democracy is drawn from interviews with more than a dozen Democratic officials, operatives, aides and donors. All of them spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to describe matters as sensitive as whether a sitting president might give up his re-election bid and how he could be replaced on the ballot.
Despite delivering a rousing speech at a rally in North Carolina on Friday that calmed some of his allies, Biden was described by one person familiar with his mood as humiliated, devoid of confidence and painfully aware that the physical images of him at the debate — eyes staring into the distance, mouth agape — will live beyond his presidency, along with a performance that at times was meandering, incoherent and difficult to hear.
“It’s a mess,” this person said.
Another person familiar with the dynamics said Biden will ultimately listen to only one adviser.
“The only person who has ultimate influence with him is the first lady,” this person said. “If she decides there should be a change of course, there will be a change of course.”
After publication of this report, a source familiar reached out to stress that the Camp David gathering was not a formal family meeting.
“Any discussion about the campaign is expected to be informal or an afterthought,” the source said. “No one is sitting down for a formal or determinative discussion.”
Anita Dunn, one of Biden’s handful of closest advisers, said on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” Saturday that Biden has not discussed dropping out of the race with aides and that internal talks have focused on moving forward.
“We had a bad debate,” Dunn said. “What do we do next? You know, the president, above all, is focused on what do we do next? What do I need to go do?”
These private discussions among Biden, his family members and his top advisers are being held against the backdrop of a reckoning for Democrats who were shocked both by Biden’s appearance and the frequency with which his train of thought appeared to veer off track.
His campaign held a conference call Saturday with members of the Democratic National Committee, which a Biden campaign official described as an effort to reassure party officials and demonstrate that his team is communicating with its allies.
“We’re driving this,” the official said.
Biden’s top aides and advisers have told his staff to stay the course in meetings and discussions. Their message, according to one senior administration official: “We’ll weather the storm, just like we always have.”
Sources have described three buckets of Democrats: those who will defend Biden under any circumstances, those who are ready to dump him, and those who are waiting to see what he does — and what his poll numbers look like in the coming days and weeks — before passing judgment. It’s the third bucket that Democratic insiders are monitoring closely.
“Democrats need to take a big breath and look at that polling, look at swing voters,” said one state Democratic Party chair. “Until I see something differently, he’s the person that’s put this coalition together, he’s the person that has the record, he’s the person that beat Donald Trump. Until I see something differently, he’s still the best person to beat Donald Trump.”
The Biden campaign declined to comment for this piece, instead pointing to a memo Saturday from campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon that made the case that Biden can still win, pointing to the more than $27 million they raised between debate day and Friday evening.
Notably, however, O’Malley Dillon nodded to the possibility that there might be some tough polling ahead — but said the blame will rest with the media: “If we do see changes in polling in the coming weeks, it will not be the first time that overblown media narratives have driven temporary dips in the polls.”
The discussions among some Democrats include weighing what the party’s best path to defeating Trump might be — sticking with an 81-year-old incumbent who could have another moment like Thursday night at any time between now and Election Day, or going with a different candidate whose path to nomination at the party’s convention next month could be a messy process.
Biden insisted Friday that he will remain the party’s standard-bearer in November, telling a crowd at his rally in North Carolina: “I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job.”
The president has spent much of the past 48 hours attending fundraising events with some of the very Democrats most concerned about the impact of his debate performance.
He addressed it head-on at one event Saturday.
“I understand the concern about the debate — I get it,” he added. “I didn’t have a great night.”
Party elites will urge him to exit the race only if they determine that he is “not viable and negatively impacting the House and Senate races,” said one big-time donor who is close to both Obama and Biden.
Inherent in the wait-and-see approach is an acknowledgment that there is no clear replacement for Biden and that his departure could touch off a bloody eleventh-hour intraparty battle that might allow Trump to cruise to victory.
There’s also no feasible way to force him from his perch. All but a handful of the delegates to the Democratic convention were elected on their pledge to nominate him at the party’s convention in August. If he chooses to stand for that nomination, party insiders say, he will get it.
Moreover, according to a senior Democratic official, the party leadership would have much more control over choosing a replacement if Biden were to drop out after receiving the nomination than if he did so beforehand. Once a candidate is officially nominated, there is a process for the Democratic National Committee members to choose a successor. Biden is the dominant force at the DNC, and his preference for a successor would surely carry sway.
If Biden were to exit before that, his delegates might do what he asked of them — but they wouldn’t be bound in the same way they are now. In that scenario, the delegates could nominate anyone, and there could be a political brawl at the convention.
“We need to have as much discipline as emotion,” the senior Democratic official said. “It’s not politically smart for Biden to step down.”
Carol E. Lee is the Washington managing editor.
Kristen Welker is the moderator of "Meet the Press."
Jonathan Allen is a senior national politics reporter for NBC News, based in Washington.
Mike Memoli is an NBC News correspondent.
Monica Alba is a White House correspondent for NBC News.
To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.
Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .
For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.
Sign up here.
Reporting by Tim Cocks and Wendell Roelf; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Emelia Sithole-Matarise
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab
North Korea fired a ballistic missile eastward, Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday.
Explore the latest interviews, correspondent coverage, best-of moments and more from The Daily Show.
Attend a Live Taping
Find out how you can see The Daily Show live and in-person as a member of the studio audience.
New Episodes Thursdays
Jon Stewart and special guests tackle complex issues.
Great Things Are in Store
Become the proud owner of exclusive gear, including clothing, drinkware and must-have accessories.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Reported speech: indirect speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
There are two kinds of reported speech you can use: direct speech and indirect speech. I'll break each down for you. A direct speech sentence mentions the exact words the other person said. For example: Kryz said, "These are all my necklaces.". Indirect speech changes the original speaker's words. For example: Kryz said those were all ...
We can call this an 'order' in English, when someone tells you very directly to do something. For example: Direct speech: Sit down! In fact, we make this into reported speech in the same way as a request. We just use 'tell' instead of 'ask': Reported speech: She told me to sit down.
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)
Reported speech: He asked if he would see me later. In the direct speech example you can see the modal verb 'will' being used to ask a question. Notice how in reported speech the modal verb 'will' and the reporting verb 'ask' are both written in the past tense. So, 'will' becomes 'would' and 'ask' becomes 'asked'.
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 ...
If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker's exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.
Yes, and you report it with a reporting verb. He said he wanted to know about reported speech. I said, I want and you changed it to he wanted. Exactly. Verbs in the present simple change to the past simple; the present continuous changes to the past continuous; the present perfect changes to the past perfect; can changes to could; will changes ...
Direct speech: Elisabeth said, "I like coffee.". As indirect reported speech, it looks like this: Indirect speech: Elisabeth said she liked coffee. You can see that the subject ("I") has been changed to "she," to show who is being spoken about. If I'm reporting the direct speech of someone else, and this person says "I," I'd ...
Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of retelling what someone else has said without repeating their exact words. For example, let's say you have a friend called Jon and one called Mary. Mary has organised a house party and has invited you and Jon. Jon, however, is not feeling well.
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:
1 'I work in a bank.' ⇒ He said that he in a bank. 2 'I am working today.' ⇒ She told us she that day. 3 'I've been ill for a couple of weeks.' ⇒ He told me he for a couple of weeks. 4 'I was at the doctor all morning.' ⇒ She told me that she at the doctor all morning. 5 'I'll lend you the money.' ⇒ He told me he me the money.
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. We often use "reported speech" when talking about a conversation that happened in the past. There are some ...
Where the verb being reported is a model verb, we change it to the preterite version of the modal. Can - could, may - might, will-would, shall-should. I will wait for you - He said he would wait for me. I may go now - She said she might go now. You can leave it here - He said I could leave it there.
In reported or indirect speech, we must also pay attention to the use of pronouns. When a person tells us something, he or she uses the first person ( I, me, my, we, us, our) to talk about himself or herself and the second person ( you, your) to talk about us, the person listening. But when we tell someone else what that person said, we are ...
When you form the reported speech, you have to pay attention that the pronouns refer to the correct persons. Examples: 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.
Direct: "I do my exercises every morning.". Reported: He explained that he did his exercises every morning. Direct: "She is going to start a new job.". Reported: He heard she was going to start a new job. Direct: "I can solve this problem.". Reported: She said she could solve that problem.
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. Q2.
Reported speech - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
1 Answer. Best Answer. Zainab Shaikh. Added an answer on December 29, 2021 at 6:51 pm. Indirect Speech: He asked us when we were leaving. Explanation: When the reporting verb is in the past (said) and the direct speech is in the present continuous tense, then the indirect (reported) speech will change into the past continuous tense.
Place. 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.
ATLANTA — President Joe Biden was supposed to put the nation's mind at ease over his physical and mental capacity with his debate showing Thursday night. But from the onset of the debate ...
President Joe Biden addressed concerns over his age while speaking at a rally in North Carolina the day after a shaky debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
We'd like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. ... Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race. Order ...
The Democratic Party has spent much of the 2024 campaign burying its head in the sand over Americans' concerns about President Biden's age and mental sharpness.
President Joe Biden is expected to discuss the future of his re-election campaign with family on Sunday, following a nationally televised debate that left many fellow Democrats worried about his ...
Fact checks, analysis and takeaways from President Joe Biden's televised debate with Donald Trump in Atlanta.
Leave it to the Poles to articulate in public what many in Europe are too fearful to say out loud: Joe Biden should have known when to quit. A few hours after the US presidential debate, ...
Voters furious at the ANC's poor record on delivering basic services, as well as widespread unemployment, poverty and corruption, deserted Nelson Mandela's legacy party, leaving it with just 40% ...
Find out how you can see The Daily Show live and in-person as a member of the studio audience. Get Tickets Now. Best of Jon Stewart. Barack Obama Pt. 1. 11m; 07/21/2015; Watch this content. #McConnelling. 4m; 03/13/2014; Watch this content. Once Upon a Tine. 5m; 01/13/2014; Watch this content. Toker & Hooch. 4m; 01/07/2014;