Report Structure

1.) To report (verb): to tell somebody what you have heard or see

2.) If we want to say what somebody has said, we basically have two options:

  - We can use the person's exact words in quotation marks "..." (direct speech)

  - We can change the person's words into our own words (reported speech)

Source

Structures of Reported Speech

Direct speech       
- She said, "It is better to wait."

- He said, "I have never been to Spain."

Reported speech   
- She said (that) it was better to wait.

- He said (that) he had never been to Spain.

Source