1. The manager says: 'I want to go to this fair together with my wife.'
The manager says (that) he wants to go to this fair together with his wife'.
2. He has always said: 'We like going to this fair.'
He has always said (that) they like going to this fair.
3. Next week he will say as usual: 'This fair was better than ever before.'
Next week he will say as usual (that) this fair was better than ever before.'
Now develop the rule!! What's the only change that is made?
If the introducing verb (e.g. "says") is in a tense of the "present group" (present tense/
present perfect/furure) direct speech can be reported without any change of tense.
1. The typist said: 'I'm writing your letter.
The typist said (that) she was writing his/my letter.
2. Jones said: 'I asked you to confirm this order. '
Jones said (that) he had asked him /her/me to confirm this order.
3. Our boss had replied: 'We've all made mistakes.'
Our boss had replied (that) they had all made mistakes.
4. The customer promised: 'I will pay this invoice punctually.'
The customer promised (that) he would pay that invoice punctually.
5. He assured: 'I had ordered different goods.'
He assured (that) he had ordered different goods.
6. If you asked my boss he would reply: 'I'm well-informed about this.'
If you asked my boss he would reply (that) he was well-informed about that.
Now develop a rule !! What else is changed?
When the introducing verb is in a tense of the "past group" (past tense/past perfect/conditional) the tenses are changed as follows:
present tense |
to |
past tense |
past tense |
to |
past perfect |
present perfect |
to |
past perfect |
past perfect |
remains |
past perfect |
future I |
to |
conditional I |
The teacher said: 'The earth moves around the sun.'
The teacher said the earth moves around the sun.
Grandma had said: 'Good health is most important for a happy life.'
Grandma had said good health is most important for a happy life.
The student answered: 'London is the capital of Britain.'
The student answered that London is the capital of Britain.
this morning |
that morning |
today |
that day |
next week |
the following week |
yesterday |
the day before |
tomorrow |
the following day |
in three days |
three days later |
Reported Questions
I asked her: 'Do you like Brahms.'
I asked if / whether she liked Brahms
He asked: 'How did this accident happen.'
He asked how this accident had happened.
Reported Imperative
Go to hell !!
I told him to go to hell.
Shut the door
I told him he should shut the door.
I told him to shut the door.
I'm reading. (He says)
He says (that) he is reading.I want to speak to her. (He says)
I've smoked for years. (Bill says)
Nancy has worked all day. (Her father says)
I've thrown it away by mistake. (Peter shouts)
I'm going to town . (John said)
We were on time. (The Browns insisted)
The Browns insisted (that) they had been on time.I went to London . (Mrs. Sims answered)
I'm going to answer the phone. (Bill had promised)
He was the first to go. (Mr. Jones swore)
He is going to London tomorrow. (Mr. Sellers explained)
The last time I saw him was last week. (His friend said)
Come to me! (He told me)
He told me to come to him.Sit down! (The teacher ordered the class)
Wait here! (The manager told him)
Pay the bill. (The waiter said - to me-)
The waiter said I should pay my bill.Take this pencil. (The secretary said -to me-)
Was the trip successful (My boss asked)
How was the weather in New York (I asked the sales manager)