Reported speech and the sequence of tenses

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Reported Speech and the Sequence of Tenses

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Reported Speech and the Sequence of
Tenses Suppose we want to share something a
person said, but we dont want to use a direct
quotation. How do we do it? We need to transform
pronouns, verb tenses (using something called the
sequence of tenses), and place and time
words. Say/Ask Verb in the Present or
Future When the say/ask verb is in the present
or future, the reported speech does not change.
Note For statements, we insert that after the
say verb in the reported speech. We also need to
change the pronouns. For example, when we report
something Bill says about himself, we use he
instead of I. Bill says, I want to go to the
zoo. Bill says that he wants to go to the zoo.
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When she sees the skyline for the first time,
Carla will say, I love New York! When she sees
the skyline for the first time, Carla will say
that she loves New York. Note For yes/no
questions, use whether instead of that. For
all other questions, use the question word in the
original (e.g., when, where, what, or why). Jake
asks, Does she attend your school? Jake asks
whether she attends my school. Paula asks, When
will she come back? Paula asks when she will
come back.
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Say/Ask Verb in the Past When the say/ask verb
is in the past, the reported speech should be in
the past as well. Original speech
tensegtReported speech tense Simple
presentgtSimple past Donna said, I hate
grapes! Donna said that she hated
grapes. Present continuousgtPast
continuous Mark said, I am going to see the
Statue of Liberty. Mark said that he was going
to see the Statue of Liberty. Present
perfectgtPast perfect
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Tanya said, I have visited twenty
countries. Tanya said that she had visited
twenty countries. Present perfect
continuousgtPast perfect continuous Libby asked,
Has Susan been planning to attend Harvard for a
long time? Libby asked whether Susan had been
planning to attend Harvard for a long
time. Simple pastgtPast perfect Margery asked,
Did you wash the dishes? Margery asked whether
I had washed the dishes. Past continuousgtPast
perfect continuous Larry said, I was planning
to go to the carnival. Larry said that he had
been planning to go to the carnival.
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Past perfectgtPast perfect Jill said, I had
just arrived when the phone rang. Jill said
that she had just arrived when the phone
rang. Past perfect continuousgtPast perfect
continuous Tom said, When I turned thirteen, my
dad had been working as a plumber for three
years. Tom said that when he turned thirteen,
his dad had been working as a plumber for three
years. FuturegtFuture in the past (willgtwould
and cangtcould). Maggie asked, When will you
leave for Los Angeles? Maggie asked when I
would leave for Los Angeles.
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Changing Pronouns and Adverbs of Time and
Place When we use reported speech (indirect
quotations), we must also change certain pronouns
and adverbs (of time and place). Original speech
pronoungtReported speech pronoun thisgtthat thes
egtthose John said, I love this movie! John
said that he loved that movie. todaygton that
day this morning or afternoongtthat morning or
afternoon tonightgtthat night
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Carol said, I will attend a play
tonight. Carol said that she would attend a
play that night. nowgtthen tomorrowgtthe
following day next week or monthgtthe following
week or month Pam said, I will move to Bushwick
next week. Pam said that she would move to
Bushwick the following week. in a few daysgta
few days later yesterdaygtthe day before last
week or monthgtthe week or month before Carol
said, I will attend a play tonight. Carol said
that she would attend a play that night.
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nowgtthen tomorrowgtthe following day next
week or monthgtthe following week or month Pam
said, I will move to Bushwick next week. Pam
said that she would move to Bushwick the
following week. in a few daysgta few days
later yesterdaygtthe day before last week or
monthgtthe week or month before five days
agogtfive days before a week agogta week
before heregtthere
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