Sequence of Tenses and Reported Speech: Statements

Observe and remember indirect speech and sequence of tenses: reported statements.

Key examples:

• I live in London. → He said (that) he lived in London.
• I am not feeling well. → Sam told me he wasn’t feeling well.
• It happened three days ago. → He told me it had happened three days before.
• I’ll telephone this evening. → Sam said he would telephone that evening.

The tense of the verb in direct speech changes when indirect speech is reported as a past event. The rule followed is:

 in object clause

• Present Tense becomes Past;
• Past Tense becomes Perfect;
• Future Tense becomes Future-in-the-Past.

The rules of the sequence of tenses are compulsory when the action of the subordinate object clause is viewed from the past.

Table for study:

When direct speech changes into reported speech, the following substitution of adverbials and pronouns usually takes place:

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
this these now here today tomorrow yesterday next week last week ago	that those then there that day the next day, the following day the day before, the previous day the following week the previous week before

◊The substitution of the adverbs, pronouns and the form of the verb occurs if the verb of the main sentence is in one of the past tenses.

◊ The substitutions do not take place if the place and the time of the direct and indirect speech coincide.

Compare:

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Betty said, 'It’s cold today.'	Betty said that it was cold that day. (The time of one event /Betty said/ doesn’t coincide with another /the cold day/.) Betty said that it’s cold today. (The time is the same.)

No change of tense will occur in indirect past speech in the following cases:

• when the verb of the object clause expresses a universal truth or facts that hold true always:

'The sun rises in the East.' → The teacher explained to the children that the sun rises in the East.

• if there is an indication of the exact time of the action:

'I was in England in 1999.'  →  He said he was in England in 1999;

• with the modal verbs must, could, might, should, would and ought to, which have only one form. ‘Must’ can remain unchanged or be replaced by ‘had to’.

'Could you come later?' → He asked me if I could come later.
'You must work.' → He said we must work. = He said we had to work.

• when the verb in the actual words spoken is already Past Perfect:

'We had finished our work by five o’clock.' → They informed their chief that they had finished their work by five o’clock.

• Go to the 'Grammar'
• Go to the Cases When the Rules of the Sequence of Tenses Are Optional page   
• When NOT to Use Sequence of Tenses Examples