Section 1 - Tenses in reported speech

IDevice Icon Tenses of the report verb
Because we usually report what was said in the past, we normally use a Past tense for the report verb: Last night in a television address, the President claimed he'd done nothing wrong.
  • We use a future form to guess the future:

I'm sure he'll say he's too tired.
What do you think the judge's decision is going to be?

  • We often use Past Continuous to report gossip, or to repeat what somebody else has just said:

Nikos was saying you're thinking of leaving.

  • We may use a report verb in a Present tense if we feel the original statement is still relevant:
John says he's on his way and will be here in twenty minutes. (= reporting a phone message)

IDevice Icon Reporting past tenses
When reporting a statement or question that referred to the past, we commonly use Past Perfect:
He told me he'd been working all day. (= original: 'I've been working all day.')
  • Where the time relationship is obvious, we can report past events with Past Simple rather than Past Perfect:
The palaeontologist claimed the world had begun / began earlier than originally thought.
  • Sometimes, we keep the original tenses, especially if the report verb is Present tense:
Oh, by the way, Tony says he's going to be a bit late. He told me he's been working all day. (= reported the same day)

IDevice Icon Reporting present tenses
We may use Past tenses to report Present tenses if they refer to things that are no longer relevant:
Jo said she felt sick. (= she isn't any longer)
  • But, we can use Present tenses if the statement is still thought to be relevant:
Jo said she is feeling sick. (= she still is)
  • There can sometimes be a conflict between logical truth and grammatical habit when reporting situations that are still true at the time of reporting. If somebody asks your age, it is logical to report it (a short time later) as:
He asked me how old I am.

  • However, there is a strong grammatical tendency to keep the tenses in a sentence in agreement:
He asked me how old I was. (and you are still the same age)
  • Both are acceptable and there's no difference in meaning:
They asked me where you live / lived.
She told me she hadn't / hasn't got much money.
  • If we don't believe the speaker, we use a Past tense:
He claimed the Earth was flat.
He told me he was broke but I know he was lying.

IDevice Icon Reporting modal verbs
For many modal verbs there is no difference between direct and reported speech:
'I might go but I don't want to. ' becomes:
He said he might go but he didn't want to.
'You shouldn't have eaten so much.' becomes:
My wife said I shouldn't have eaten so much.
  • Those that can change (if necessary) are:

Modal  Changes  Examples 
can  becomes: could (or would be able to)  'Can I borrow your ball?' becomes: He asked if he could borrow our ball. 
must  becomes: had to or was/were to (to express obligation)
 'You must go back again later.' becomes: They told me I had to go back again later. 
will  becomes: would  'I'll come later.' becomes: She told me she would come later. 
may  becomes: might  'I may come.' becomes: He said he might come. 
needn't  becomes: didn't need to or didn't have to/wouldn't have to  'You needn't go tonight.' becomes: He said I didn't need to go last night. 




iDevice icon Check!
What are the likely original statements which these report?
a. They said they would be at the station by ten.
b. She said she had to wash her hair this evening.
c. He tried to convince me that Goa was in Africa.
d. She claimed she spent her childhood in Australia.
e. She said she'd given up studying English and was going to get married instead.

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