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Can you train your memory? Reported statements: say vs tell and tense changes

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches say vs tell and reported speech tense changes with the memory palace, the trick a journalist used on his way to a U.S. memory title.

Grammar
Say (that) and tell + a person, with each verb one step back in a past story (is → was, can → could, will → would) and pronouns that change.
Topic
Joshua Foer, the memory palace and the U.S. Memory Championship, with words such as memorize, recall, contestant and flashcard.
Activities
Episode notes to read, a Mug Bet with a shuffled deck and a listener's memory trick to hear, self-checking drills, a chat about a memory club and open boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: memory check!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: memory and learningVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: an average brain wins

    • Look at the picture: a memory championshipPictureUnlock
    • Read the episode notesArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: fifty-two cards, five minutes

    • Listen to Riley and DariusListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to The Listener's Take: LucasListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: He said he was ready

    • Study the scheme: say, tell and one step backGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct option: say or tell?Choose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: move the verb one step backFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: change the person and the verbFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: what did the coach say?

    • Choose the right replies: a chat about the memory clubChatTry it
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: report the wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which report means the same?QuizUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct order: new sentencesUnjumbleUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: the hosts answer LucasDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: a local news postChoose the optionUnlock

32 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • brain
  • memory palace
  • contestant
  • championship
  • deck of cards
  • flashcard
  • sticky note
  • forgetful
  • voicemail

Grammar: reported statements with say and tell

Reported speech tells what someone said without their exact words: “I'm ready,” Darius said becomes Darius said he was ready. A Mug Bet and a memory champion give learners plenty to report, so they choose between say and tell, move each verb one step back and change the pronouns.

He said he was ready. He told me he could…

Report someone's words with say (that) or tell + a person (that). In a story about the past, move the verb one step back.

Say or tell?

Say takes the words, with or without that: Darius said (that) he was ready. Tell needs a person right after it: Darius told me he was ready. She told Darius he was brave. So it's never He said me or He told to us.

say or tell?

VerbPatternExample
saysay (that) + the wordsDarius said (that) he was ready.
telltell + a person + (that) + the wordsDarius told me (that) he was ready.
tell + me, you, him, her, us, themthe person comes right after tellHe told us he could do it. She told Darius he was brave.

say ≠ tell

tell needs a person, and say doesn't: He told me he was ready (not: He said me). She said that she was nervous (not: She told that…). No to after tell: He told us (not: He told to us). “He said to me” is also correct, but “He told me” is more common.

One step back into the past

In a story about the past, the verb moves back: am or is → was, are → were, don't need → didn't need, am using → was using. Will becomes would, and can becomes could: He said he would win.

One step back into the past

Their wordsReportedExample
am / iswas“I'm nervous.” → She said she was nervous.
arewere“We're ready.” → They said they were ready.
present simple: remember, don't needpast simple: remembered, didn't need“I don't need a timer.” → He said he didn't need a timer.
present continuous: am / is / are usingpast continuous: was / were using“I'm using a memory palace.” → He said he was using a memory palace.
will / won'twould / wouldn't“I'll win.” → He said he would win.
can / can'tcould / couldn't“I can memorize it.” → He told me he could memorize it.

am / is / are → was / were, for every person

PersonTheir wordsReported
I“I'm nervous,” I said.I said I was nervous.
you“I'm nervous,” you said.You said you were nervous.
he“I'm nervous,” Darius said.He said he was nervous.
she“I'm nervous,” Riley said.She said she was nervous.
it“It's easy,” Darius said about the trick.He said it was easy.
we“We're nervous,” we said.We said we were nervous.
they“We're nervous,” the contestants said.They said they were nervous.

Change the pronouns too

Think about who is speaking now. I becomes he or she, my becomes his or her, and we becomes they: “My grandmother's house is my memory palace” becomes Darius said his grandmother's house was his memory palace.

Change the pronouns too

Think about who is speaking now: I → he / she, my → his / her, we → they, our → their, you → me / him / us… “My grandmother's house is my memory palace,” Darius said. → Darius said his grandmother's house was his memory palace.

When the moment is over

Move the verb back when the moment is over: Last week, Riley said she was nervous, not is. For things still true now, people sometimes keep the present, but every exercise in this lesson reports a moment that is over, so the step back is the answer.

When the moment is over

In a story about the past, when the moment is over, move the verb back: Last week Riley said she was nervous (not: is). He said he could do it, but he lost (not: can). She said she would call, and she called (not: will). If something is still true now, people sometimes keep the present, but in this lesson's exercises the moment is over.

In the studio and in New York

  • Darius said he was ready.
  • He told Riley he could memorize the whole deck.
  • He said he was using his grandmother's house.
  • The contestants told Foer that anyone could do it.
  • Lucas's teacher said she had a trick.
  • She told him his brain was fine.

Common mistakes

Three mistakes mix up the verbs: He said me (use told me), She told that (use said that) and He told to us (drop to). The fourth keeps the present in a past story: he said he can do it should be he said he could do it.

  • He said me he was ready.

    He told me he was ready.

    tell + a person; say + no person

  • She told that she was nervous.

    She said that she was nervous.

    tell needs a person after it

  • He told to us he could do it.

    He told us he could do it.

    no to after tell

  • Before the bet, he said he can do it and he will win.

    Before the bet, he said he could do it and he would win.

    a past story: can → could, will → would

More lessons on this grammar: Reported speech lessons and exercises

Try the say vs tell exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 17 auto-checked exercises
  • 6 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • report with say and tell: Darius said he was ready. He told Riley he could memorize the whole deck.
  • move the verb one step back in a past story: “I'm using my grandmother's house.” → He said he was using his grandmother's house.
  • change can to could and will to would: Before the bet, he said he could do it and he would win.
  • change the pronouns: “My head is full of cards!” → Darius said his head was full of cards.
  • avoid said me, told that and told to us: He told me he was ready. She said that she was nervous.

Lesson 13 opens Memory and learning, unit 4 of English B1.2 · Changemakers. It builds on the past simple of A2.1 lessons 1 to 3 and the past continuous of A2.2 lesson 9, the forms a report steps back to. Lesson 14 adds reported statements about the past, with time and place words. Memory training is full of bold claims (I can memorize the whole deck!) that are fun to report once the test is over.

Students spin a wheel of questions about memory, then learn twelve words, from memorize and recall to sticky note and voicemail, with pictures and audio. They read the show's episode notes on Joshua Foer and the memory palace, then hear Riley report Darius's Mug Bet to Jade's voicemail and Lucas, a listener from Ohio, report his teacher's trick, both AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking drills, including a table that changes the person and the verb. In the speaking chapter, a friend reports a memory club coach's words in a chat, and open boxes ask students to report real words.

The homework has ten tasks, all self-checking: a match, an anagram, a gap-fill and a memory game on the words; then a choice of forms, gaps to report the words, a same-meaning quiz and word order; last, the hosts' memory tricks for Lucas and a news post about a memory contest, both with gaps.

Grammar:
reported speech · reported statements · say vs tell · tense changes in reported speech
Topic:
memory · Joshua Foer · the USA Memory Championship · the memory palace · Moonwalking with Einstein · learning tips · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Run a real Mug Bet: one student claims I can memorize ten words in a minute. After the test, the class reports the claim and the result: She said she could do it, and she did!
  • Ask if memory champions are born or trained before the episode notes. Students vote, then read to find out what the contestants told Foer.
  • Pause at Riley's voicemails and write Darius's own words on the board next to her report: “I'm ready” → he said he was ready. Students spot what changed: the pronoun and the verb.
  • Play telephone with a twist: one student whispers a sentence like I'm hungry, and the next reports it aloud: She said she was hungry. Every report changes the pronoun and steps the verb back.

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The whole course: English B1.2 · Changemakers

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, about people and ideas that changed things: start-ups, future cities, food, memory, customs, art, volunteers and adventure. The podcast team of English B1.1 is back for a season called Changemakers. Learners use the second conditional, the passive, reported speech, the past perfect, relative clauses and verb patterns, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Start-up stories

    the second conditional, If I were you, the first vs the second conditional, also, too, as well and besides

    1. Lesson 1The garage where Silicon Valley beganThe second conditional for imagined situations
    2. Lesson 2Would you sell lemonade to save bees?Second conditional questions and If I were you
    3. Lesson 3Pitch it to the Sharks!First vs second conditional: a real plan or a dream?
    4. Lesson 4A bakery that hires anyone?Adding ideas: also, too, as well, either and besides

  2. Unit 2 Cities of tomorrow

    the passive in the present simple and the past simple, with modals, and in the present perfect and present continuous

    1. Lesson 5Can you cross a city without going outside?The present simple passive
    2. Lesson 6A park on top of a freeway?The past simple passive
    3. Lesson 7Can a desert city catch the rain?The passive with modals
    4. Lesson 8Can an old railroad become a park?The present perfect and present continuous passive

  3. Unit 3 Food for the future

    comparative and superlative adverbs, the future passive, verbs with prepositions, phrasal verbs with up, away and out

    1. Lesson 9Why did Carver tell farmers to plant peanuts?Comparative and superlative adverbs
    2. Lesson 10Lettuce from space?The future passive with will be
    3. Lesson 11Why do corn, beans and squash grow together?Verbs with dependent prepositions
    4. Lesson 12What happens to dining-hall leftovers?Phrasal verbs with up, away and out

  4. Unit 4 Memory and learning

    reported statements with say and tell, tense changes, time and place words, reported questions, requests and commands

    1. Lesson 13 · you're hereCan you train your memory?Reported statements with say and tell
    2. Lesson 14He got better but never rememberedReported statements about the past
    3. Lesson 15Can a TV show teach the alphabet?Reported questions
    4. Lesson 16Can you learn a new skill at 70?Reported requests and commands

  5. Unit 5 Customs and manners

    degree adverbs such as quite and pretty, the past perfect, the past perfect vs the past simple, make vs do

    1. Lesson 17To tip or not to tip?Adverbs of degree before adjectives and adverbs
    2. Lesson 18They'd already started without me!The past perfect: had + past participle
    3. Lesson 19What should you do at a powwow?Past perfect vs past simple
    4. Lesson 20How do you accept a lei?Make vs do: collocations to learn

  6. Unit 6 Art and design

    relative clauses with whose, non-defining relative clauses, relative clauses without a pronoun, when and why

    1. Lesson 21Art that moves in the airRelative clauses with whose
    2. Lesson 22A heart that sells a stateNon-defining relative clauses
    3. Lesson 23What would you paint on a city wall?Relative clauses without who, which or that
    4. Lesson 24Why does the sign say Hollywood?Relative adverbs: when, why and where

  7. Unit 7 Volunteers and changemakers

    verb + -ing or to, -ing as a subject and after prepositions, stop, remember, try and forget, prefer and would rather

    1. Lesson 25A day on, not a day off?Verb + -ing or verb + to
    2. Lesson 26The house that welcomed a neighborhoodGerunds as subjects and after prepositions
    3. Lesson 27A walk that lasted 24 hoursStop, remember, forget and try + to or -ing
    4. Lesson 28Head, heart, hands and healthPrefer, would rather and would prefer

  8. Unit 8 Adventure and challenge

    possessive 's vs of, must and can't for deduction, might, may and could for possibility, the meanings of get

    1. Lesson 29Could you climb a fourteener?Possessive 's, s' or of
    2. Lesson 30It must be here somewhere!Must and can't for deduction
    3. Lesson 31How did Houdini get out?Might, may and could for possibility
    4. Lesson 32A capital with no road inThe meanings of get

Questions about this lesson

What's the difference between say and tell?
Tell takes a person, and say doesn't: Darius told me he was ready, but Darius said he was ready. So He said me and She told that… are both wrong. There's no to after tell: He told us, not He told to us. Said to me is possible, but told me is more common. The B1 lesson Can you train your memory? on edio.ai drills the pair.
What is reported speech?
Reported speech gives someone's words without quoting them exactly: “I'm nervous,” Riley said becomes Riley said she was nervous. The words change to your point of view: the pronouns change, and in a story about the past the verb moves one step back. Can you train your memory?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, starts reported speech with statements and the verbs say and tell.
What are the tense changes in reported speech?
In a story about the past, each verb moves one step back: am or is → was, are → were, present simple → past simple, present continuous → past continuous, will → would, can → could. “I don't need a timer” becomes She said she didn't need a timer. The scheme in Can you train your memory? on edio.ai shows each change with an example from the lesson.
Do you always change the tense in reported speech?
No. When the moment is over, move the verb back: Last week, Riley said she was nervous. When something is still true, people sometimes keep the present: She said she loves the show. To keep the practice clear, every drill in Can you train your memory? on edio.ai reports a moment that is over, with words like before the bet or yesterday.
Is it "he said me" or "he told me"?
It's he told me: say can't take a person directly. Use He told me he was ready, or He said he was ready with no person. To name the person with say, add to: He said to me…, though told me is more common. The wrong replies in the chat of Can you train your memory? on edio.ai hide mistakes like this one.
What is a memory palace?
A memory palace is a memory trick from ancient Greece: you imagine a place you know well, like your own house, and “park” each thing you want to remember in a spot there, such as the mailbox or the sink. To recall the list, you walk through the house in your mind and see the pictures again. The episode notes in Can you train your memory?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, explain how it works.
Can you really train your memory?
The contestants Joshua Foer met said yes. When the American science journalist went to the U.S. Memory Championship in 2005, most contestants didn't have photographic memories: they said their brains were average and told him anyone could do it. Foer trained for most of a year, won the 2006 championship in New York and told the story in his 2011 book Moonwalking with Einstein. Can you train your memory? on edio.ai tells it.
How do I teach say and tell to B1 students?
Start with real words from the room: write what a student just said in quotes, then report it together: “I'm tired” becomes He said he was tired. Add tell + a person next, then the step back for can and will. Can you train your memory? on edio.ai builds the same way, from a Mug Bet reported to a voicemail to the scheme and five drills.
What's a good game for practicing reported speech?
Boxes of things to ask, then report work well: a student opens one, asks a classmate What's hard for you to remember? and tells the class the answer: She said names were hard. In Can you train your memory? on edio.ai, one box sets up a one-minute memory bet, and the class reports the claim afterward: He said he could…
What's good homework for say vs tell?
Good homework checks the verb, the tense and the pronoun: a choice of told, said or told to, gaps such as After practice yesterday, Keoni said he ___ (be) tired, and a quiz that picks the right report of “You're late!” All ten homework tasks in Can you train your memory? on edio.ai check themselves, a news post about a memory contest among them.
How do you practice reported speech one-to-one?
Ask about real conversations from the week: what did a teacher, a boss or a friend say? The student reports it (My boss told me the meeting was at nine), and you ask follow-up questions. The chat in Can you train your memory? on edio.ai works without a partner: a friend reports a coach's words, and the right reply is He told Riley he could memorize the whole deck, not He said Riley…
Are there interactive exercises for say and tell?
Yes: gap-fills and chats that correct each answer make the pair automatic. This page plays three parts of Can you train your memory?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, without an account: Riley and Darius's Mug Bet with a shuffled deck, a gap-fill that moves each verb one step back and a chat about a school memory club. The full lesson needs an account.
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