Tense changes when using reported speech
Normally, the tense in reported speech is one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech:
She said, "I am tired." = She said that she was tired.
Phrase in direct speech | Equivalent in reported speech |
---|---|
Simple present | Simple past |
"I always drink coffee", she said | She said that she always drank coffee. |
Present continuous | Past continuous |
"I am reading a book", he explained. | He explained that he was reading a book |
Simple past | Past perfect |
"Bill arrived on Saturday", he said. | He said that Bill had arrived on Saturday. |
Present perfect | Past perfect |
"I have been to Spain", he told me. | He told me that he had been to Spain. |
Past perfect | Past perfect |
"I had just turned out the light," he explained. | He explained that he had just turned out the light. |
Present perfect continuous | Past perfect continuous |
They complained, "We have been waiting for hours". | They complained that they had been waiting for hours. |
Past continuous | Past perfect continuous |
"We were living in Paris", they told me. | They told me that they had been living in Paris. |
Future | Present conditional |
"I will be in Geneva on Monday", he said. | He said that he would be in Geneva on Monday. |
Future continuous | Conditional continuous |
She said, "I'll be using the car next Friday". | She said that she would be using the car next Friday. |
You do not need to change the tense if the reporting verb is in the present, or if the original statement was about something that is still true, e.g.
- He says he has missed the train but he'll catch the next one.
- We explained that it is very difficult to find our house.
These modal verbs do not change in reported speech: might, could, would, should, ought to:
- We explained, "It could be difficult to find our house." = We explained that it could be difficult to find our house.
- She said, "I might bring a friend to the party." = She said that she might bring a friend to the party.