Reported Speech and the Sequence of Tenses Suppose we want to share something a person said, but we don’t 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.

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.

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 tense—>Reported speech tense

Simple present—>Simple past

Donna said, “I hate grapes!”

Donna said that she hated grapes.

Present continuous—>Past 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 perfect—>Past perfect

Tanya said, “I have visited twenty countries.”

Tanya said that she had visited twenty countries.

Present perfect continuous—>Past 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 past—>Past perfect

Margery asked, “Did you wash the dishes?”

Margery asked whether I had washed the dishes.

Past continuous—>Past perfect continuous

Larry said, “I was planning to go to the carnival.”

Larry said that he had been planning to go to the carnival.

Past perfect—>Past perfect

Jill said, “I had just arrived when the phone rang.”

Jill said that she had just arrived when the phone rang.

Past perfect continuous—>Past 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.

Future—>Future in the past (will—>would and can—>could).

Maggie asked, “When will you leave for Los Angeles?”

Maggie asked when I would leave for Los Angeles.

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 pronoun—>Reported speech pronoun

this—>that

these—>those

John said, “I love this movie!”

John said that he loved that movie.

today—>on that day

this morning or afternoon—>that morning or afternoon

tonight—>that night

Carol said, “I will attend a play tonight.”

Carol said that she would attend a play that night.

now—>then

tomorrow—>the following day

next week or month—>the 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 days—>a few days later

yesterday—>the day before

last week or month—>the week or month before

five days ago—>five days before

a week ago—>a week before

here—>there

Tammy asked, “When will you arrive here?”

Tammy asked when I would arrive there.

EXCEPTION: If the original is a general truth (a fact), we usually use the present even if the say/ask verb is in the past.

The teacher said, “The melting point of ice is 32 degrees Fahrenheit.”

The teacher said that the melting point of ice is 32 degrees Fahrenheit.