Tenses :
-Backshift
We must change the tense if the statement is in Simple Past. This is called backshift.
Example:
Direct statement :
He said, “I am happy.”
Reported statement :
He said that he was happy.
The word 'said' in the direct statement shows that the statement is in Simple Past.
-No backshift
Don't change the tense if the statement is in Simple Present.
Example:
Direct statement :
He says, “I speak English.”
Reported statement :
He says that he speaks English.
| Direct Statement | Reported Statement |
| Simple Present | Simple Past |
| Present Progressive | Past Progressive |
| Simple Past | Past Perfect Simple |
| Present Perfect Simple | |
| Past Perfect Simple | |
| Past Progressive | Past Perfect Progressive |
| Present Perfect Progressive | |
| Past Perfect Progressive | |
| Future I (going to) | was / were going to |
| Future I (will) | Conditional I (would) |
| Conditional I (would) |
The verbs could, should, would, might, must, needn’t, ought to, used to don't normally change.
Example:
Direct statement :
He said, “She might be right.”
Reported statement :
He said that she might be right.
Examples of backshifting tenses :
| From | To |
| Shane: "I cook in the kitchen." | Shane said that he cooked in the kitchen. |
| Shane: "I cooked in the kitchen." | Shane said that he had cooked in the kitchen. |
| Shane: "I have cooked in the kitchen." | |
| Shane: "I had cooked in the kitchen." | |
| Shane: "I will cook in the kitchen." | Shane said that he would cook in the kitchen. |
| Shane: "I can cook in the kitchen." | Shane said that he could cook in the kitchen. |
| Shane: "I may cook in the kitchen." | Shane said that he might cook in the kitchen. |
| Shane: "I would cook in the kitchen." (could, might, should, ought to) | Shane said that he would cook in the kitchen. (could, might, should, ought to) |
| Continuous forms | |
| Shane: "I'm cooking in the kitchen." | Shane said that he was cooking in the kitchen. |
| Shane: "I was cooking in the kitchen." | Shane said that he had been cooking in the kitchen. |
| Shane: "I have been cooking in the kitchen." | |
| Shane: "I had been cooking in the kitchen." | |
Note:
In some statements, the backshift is not necessary, if the statements are still true.
Example :
Pete: "I'm a doctor."
Pete said that he was a doctor.
Pete said that he was a doctor.
or
Pete said that he is a doctor.
Pete said that he is a doctor.
or
Lindsay: "We need water and food to survive."
Lindsay said that we needed water and food to survive.
or
Lindsay said that we need water and food to survive.
Place and Time Expressions
For the place and time expressions, we have to check whether place and time are the same in the direct and reported statement or not. Check the following example:
It is Saturday and you meet John at a restaurant. John tells you that he saw Carol in this restaurant today. (“I saw Carol here today.”) A few minutes later, Helen joins you and you want to report what John has told you. Place (here) and time (today) are the same so you can say:
→ John said that he had seen Carol here today.
One day later, you meet Mary at the same restaurant. Again, you want to report to her what John has told you. The place is the same, but not the time (it happened yesterday). So you would say:
→ John said that he had seen Carol here yesterday.
A few days later, Tom calls you at home. Again, you want to tell him what John has told you. However, you aren't at the restaurant at the moment (but at home) and a few days have passed since then. So you would say:
→ John said that he had seen Carol at the restaurant on Friday.
or
→ I met John in a restaurant on Friday and he said that he had seen Carol there that day.
So, we always have to think which place and time expressions are logical in a certain situation.
| Direct Statement | Reported Statement |
| today | that day |
| now | then |
| yesterday | the day before |
| … days ago | … days before |
| last week | the week before |
| next year | the following year |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| here | there |
| this | that |
| these | those |
