GOLD MEDALS: REPORTED SPEECH- STEP BY STEP 2

Now, let’s learn what other changes are there when the introduction is in past simple.

A) Go back a tense

We have to go back a tense. The following table shows you rule.

DIRECT SPEECH	INDIRECT SPEECH
Present Simple	Past Simple
e.g.: I get up at 6.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she got up at 6.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
e.g.: I’m having lunch now.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she was having lunch then.
Present Perfect	Past Perfect
e.g.: I have baked a cake.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she had baked a cake.
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
e.g.: I have been cooking all day.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she had been cooking all day
Past Simple	Past Perfect
e.g.: I broke my leg yesterday.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she had broken her leg the day before.
Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
e.g.: I was reading at 5 pm yesterday.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she had been reading at 5 pm the day before.
Past Perfect	Past Perfect
e.g.: She had ironed the clothes.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she had ironed the clothes.
Past Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
e.g.: She had been ironing.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she had been ironing.
Future Simple	would + V1
e.g.: I will visit you.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she would visit him.
Future Continuous	would + be + V-ing
e.g.: I will be lying in the sun.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she would be lying in the sun.
Future Perfect	would + have + V3
e.g.: I will have finished this work by 5 pm.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she would have finished that work by 5 pm.

B) The modal verbs

DIRECT SPEECH	INDIRECT SPEECH
can	could
e.g.: I can swim.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she could swim.
may	might
e.g.: I may pass the exam.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she might pass the exam.
must	had to (or remains: must)
e.g.: I must go now.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she had to go then.
needn’t	didn’t have to
e.g.: I needn’t take my umbrella.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she didn’t have to take her umbrella.
mustn’t	wasn’t / weren’t to
e.g.: I mustn’t speak rude to my parents.	e.g.: Mary said to Peter she wasn’t to speak rude to her parents,

Don’t change:

C) IMPORTANT NOTE:

1) You don’t have to go back a tense:

a. with present introduction. (Look at it above.)

b. if the content is still true

e.g.: Budapest is the capital of Hungary. è Tom said Budapest is the capital of Hungary.

c. if it is a (daily) habit

e.g.: I always get up at 6 o’clock. è Tom said he always gets up at 6 o’clock.

d. if it is a natural law.

e.g.: Cats like eating fish. è Tom said cats like eating fish.

e. if in the sentence there is Past Simple and Past Continuous, too.

e.g.: I was ironing when the telephone rang. She said to me she was ironing when the telephone rang.

f. if we give the correct time in Simple Past Tense.

e.g.: I broke my leg on Tuesday. She said to me she broke her leg on Tuesday.

g. in second and third conditional tenses.

e.g.: If I were you, I wouldn’t go to that party. She said to me if she were/was me, she wouldn’t go to that party.

2) Short answer in reported speech:

e.g.: Have you done the homework? Yes, I have. Sam asked Mary if she had done the homework and she said she had.

3) Connecting some sentences in everyday conversations.

If you want to connect at least two sentences you have to use one of these linking words:

GOLD MEDALS