Present simple past simple
I like peaches He said he liked peaches
Present progressive past progressive
It is raining He asked if it was raining
Past simple past perfect
I didnt recognize you She explained that she hadnt recognized me.
Present perfect past perfect
You ve annoyed the dog I told her she d annoyed the dog.
Past progressive past progressive or past perfect progressive
I was joking about the price He said he was joking (had been joking)
about the price
Past perfect past perfect
I hadnt seen her before You said you hadnt seen her before that day.
that day
shall/will should/would
We ll be late I was afraid we d be late.
Can, may could, might
I can swim She thought she could swim.
It may rain They said it might rain.
Would, could, might, ought, would, could, might, ought, should
Should
She could be right I felt she could be right.
That should be interesting She said it should be interesting.
Must must (or had to)
I must go He said he must go (he had to go).
Note that we may have shall or should in direct speech, and would in reported speech (because of the difference of person).
I should be delighted to come. He said he would be delighted to come.
When the reporting verb is present, future, or present perfect the tenses used are usually the same as those in the speakers original words. Compare:
Will I be in time?
She wants to know if she ll be in time.
Was your operation successful?
Hell certainly ask you if your operation was successful.
I dont want to go
Ive already told you that I dont want to go.
Sometimes, even after past reporting verbs, the tenses are the same as the original speakers. This happens when we are reporting people saying things that are still true when we report them. Compare:
The earth goes round the sun
Galileo proved that the earth goes round the sun.
Im only 28.
She told me the other day that shes only 28.
However, past tenses are also possible in these cases. British or American people find the following conversation quite natural:
How old are you? I beg your pardon? I asked how old you were.
In sentences like these, we often use present tenses if we feel that we are reporting facts; we prefer past tenses if we are not sure of the truth of what we report. Compare:
She told me shes getting married next June.(And I believe her)
She told me she was getting married next June. (It may be true, it may not.)
It is important to realize that the tenses in reported speech are not special. They are (almost always) just the normal tenses for the situation we are talking about. Compare:
She was tired so she went home.
She said she was tired and she went home.
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In the second sentence, the past tense in was tired is not used because the structure is reported speech. It is used (as in the first sentence) because we are talking about the past. It is quite unnecessary to learn complicated rules about reported speech, or to practice changing direct speech to reported speech. Simply use the tenses that are natural for the situation.
Reported questions
Reported questions do not have the same word-order as direct questions often have. Do is not used. Question-marks are not used.
The nurse asked how I felt.
I wondered why my mother was driving so fast.
Rosemary couldnt understand where all the people were living.
Before a question which do not have a question-word (like who, where, why) if or whether is used in reported speech.
Im not sure whether/if Ill have time.
I wonder whether/if youve got letters for me.
When both sides of the alternative are given, whether is more common, especially in a formal style.
Let me know whether/if you can come or not.
The directors have not decided whether they will recommend a dividend or hold the profits.
Certain verbs (for instance: to discuss) can be followed by whether not by if.
We discussed whether we should close the shop.
And whether not if can be used after prepositions, and before to-infinitive.
I havent settled the question of whether Ill go back home.
She doesnt know whether to get married now or wait.
Say can be used to introduce direct questions, but not reported questions. Compare:
She said, Do you want me to help you?
She asked if I wanted her to help me.
Note that the reported question constructions can be used in a special way, to report the answers to questions. In this case say can be used.
I told him how many people we were expecting.
She explained what the problem was.
Mary said why she didnt want to come.
There is a difference in the usage of say and tell. Tel l is used only in direct speech when what is quoted is either an instruction or a piece of information.
I said Hello to the boss and sat down at my desk.
Mary said, What a nice idea.
I told Martha, Look in the black box in my bedroom.
I told them, I have never seen this man before.
In reported speech both say and tell can be used to talk about giving information but not about asking questions.
I said that I was tired.
The landlady told me that she would have to put up the rent.
Say what you want.
She refused to tell me where she lived.
But: They a sked what I wanted.
They asked if I wanted to see a film.
Words like here, there, this, that, today, tomorrow, yesterday, next, last, now, then are called here-and-now-words. Their exact meaning depends on where and when they are used, and they may have to be changed in reported speech (unless the words are reported immediately, and in the same place where they were spoken). There are no exact rules for changing these words: we use whatever expressions will make the meaning clear in the situation.
Tell +object + infinitive is used to talk about orders, commands, advice, etc.
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Say cannot be used like this.
I told them to shut up.
My mother always told me not to talk to strange men.
Tell Charles to stop worrying and have a drink.
Shall I...? can have two meanings. It can be used for information (e.g. Shall I be in London in time for supper if I catch the 10.30 train?), or to ask for orders, instructions, etc. (e.g. Shall I carry your bag for you?). Information-questions are reported with will/would in the third person; offers and requests for instructions are generally reported with should(present or past).
He wants to know if he wil l be in London in time for supper.
He aske d if he woul d be in London....
He wants to know /he asked if he should carry my bag.
Reported speech: orders, requests, advice,.....
Orders, requests, advice and suggestions are often reported by using an infinitive.
I told Andrew to be careful crossing the glacier.
The old lady downstairs has asked us to be quite after midnight.
The accountants advis e us to raise prices by 8%.
Note that ask can be used in this way, but say is not usually possible. Suggest cannot be followed by the infinitive.
Negative questions, etc. are reported with negative infinitive.
Margaret told me not to worry.
A that-construction is also possible.
The policeman told me that I ought to fill in a form.
Should (British English) or a subjunctive (American English) is often used in that constructions.
I suggested that he (should) meet us again a month later.
Conditionals
After a past reporting verb we can sometimes use a conditional perfect structure (past perfect in the main clause, conditional perfect in the other). It depends on the meaning. Compare:
1.He said,If you called on me tomorrow, I could see you for half an hour
He said that if I called on him the next day he could see me....
2. He said, If I had any money, Ill buy you a drink.
He said if hed had any money hed have bought me a drink.
In the first example the speaker was talking about something that might happen, and the past conditional is not possible because it is only used for imaginary situations. In the second example, the past conditional is possible, because the speaker was talking about something that could not happen.
That
After the commonest verbs of saying and thinking, that can be left out, particularly in a conversational style.
I said I wanted to get home early.
Jane thought it was time to buy some new clothes.
I suppose we ought to go.
Deborah tells me youre leaving.
That is not so often left out in a more formal style, and there are also many verbs (reply, telegraph....) after which that is necessary.
He replied that we ought to invest half the profits.
How to, where to,etc.
In reported speech, it is possible to use a question-word (how, where, who, etc) with an infinitive.
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I told her where to go.
