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More about Changing Verb Tenses in Reported Speech
In general, when we use reported speech, we are referring to something that someone said in the past. The speaking words will be in the past tense, such as "he said" or "she answered". In formal usage, this requires that the verbs in the reported speech change into a past form. If a verb is already in a past form, sometimes it stays the same.
We make the formal changes to verb tenses in reported speech more often in writing than in speaking.
Sometimes, we keep the speaking words in the present tense to show immediacy. In this situation, the verb tenses in the reported speech do not change. If the direct speech happened very recently, the verb tenses in the direct speech are often kept the same.
Here is a table showing the formal verb tense changes when the speaking words are in the past tense.
PRESENT to...
- The President said, "I have a great staff."
- The President said, "The economy is improving."
- The President said, "We must help other nations."
- The President said, "You can help make this happen."
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PAST
- The President said that he had a great staff.
- The President said that the economy was improving.
- The President said that the American people had to help other nations.
- The President said that the American people could help make this happen.
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PAST to...
- The President said, "Gas prices went up last year."
- The President said, "I had a meeting with the Prime Minister last night."
- The President said, "The economy was very healthy in the first quarter of the year."
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PAST PERFECT
- The President said that gas prices had gone up the year before.
- The President said that he had had a meeting with the Prime Minister the previous evening.
- The President said that the economy had been very healthy in the first quarter of the year.
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FUTURE to...
- The President said, "We will provide affordable health care for everyone."
- The President said, "I shall restore faith in government." [note: "shall" is only used with "I" and "we" - it has genearlly the same meaning as "will"]
- The President said, "We may have some tough times ahead."
- The President said, "The American people can work together."
- The President said, "I am going to make America strong again."
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PAST FUTURE
- The President said that his government would provide affordable health care for everyone.
- The President said that he would restore faith in government.
- The President said that Americans might have some tough times ahead of them.
- The President said that the American people could work together.
- The President said that he was going to make America strong again.
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NO CHANGES
- The President said, "Before 1950, we had struggled with the results of the Great Depression."
- The President said, "We should look to the future."
- The President said, "We would all like to live in peace."
- The President said, "Everyone could play a part."
- The President said, "My decision might face great opposition."
- The President said, "I was going to discuss health care, but something more important has arisen."
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NO CHANGES
- The President said that before 1950, the country had struggled with the results of the Great Depression.
- The President said that the country should look to the future.
- The Presdient siad that everyone would like to live in peace.
- The President said that everyone could play a part.
- The President said that his decision might face great opposition.
- The President said that he was going to discuss health care, but something more important had arisen.
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