Learn · Sentences Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

He said that he had been working on a top-secret project for several months.

C1

Sentence

Narrator

He said that he had been working on a top-secret project for several months.

Study notes

How to use in different contexts

Reporting News

Sources say he has been working on a highly classified project for months.

Describing a Mystery

For months, he'd been secretive, hinting at a top-secret project he was involved in.

Casual Conversation

He mentioned he's been busy with something top secret for a while now.

Formal Report

The individual indicated that he had been engaged in a classified project of significant duration.

Rephrased versions

Formal

He stated that he had been engaged in a confidential project for a period of several months.

Casual

He said he'd been working on something super secret for ages.

Simpler English

He said he'd been working on a secret project for a long time.

Phrases to learn

top-secret project

A project that is highly confidential and not to be disclosed.

working on

Engaged in the process of creating or developing something.