Earlier, you learned that you should change the verb tense when reporting speech. This is true, but depending on the situation, you will need to use different tenses to make the meaning clear.
Past Events
Sometimes, someone is talking about something that has already happened or finished. They will use a past tense for this. When you are reporting this speech, you should use the past perfect.
"I went to a tea party with my baby sister."
She said that she had gone to a tea party with her baby sister.
In spoken English, people often don't do this. In informal English, it's okay to just use the simple past if that was used in the original quote.
"I went to a tea party with my baby sister."
She said that she went to a tea party with her baby sister.
In formal writing, however, you should always change the tense to the past perfect.
Present Events
Sometimes, a person is talking about something that is happening at the time of speaking. They will usually use the simple present or the present continuous for this. When you are reporting this speech, you should use the simple past or the past continuous.
"I see a dolphin!"
He said that he saw a dolphin.
"I'm going for a run outside."
She said that she was going for a run.
In some cases, it might be true that the event is still happening when you report the speech. For example, if your mom tells you, "Go ask your brother if he's busy right now." Your brother tells you:
"I'm practicing my guitar."
When you go talk to your mom and report the speech, this event will still be happening, so you can keep the present continuous tense.
He said that he's practicing his guitar.
Notice that you should use the simple past if the quote was in the simple present, and the past continuous if the quote was in the present continuous. Do not mix the two up.
Future Events
Sometimes, a person is talking about something that will happen in the future. They will usually use the simple present or the present continuous for this. When you are reporting this speech, you need to be careful and think about whether the event has happened yet. Look at the example below.
"I am hosting a party at my house next week."
Imagine you are talking about this to a friend the day after you heard this. Since you are reporting this speech before the party, you will still need to use the future tense, because the event is still in the future.
Henry said that he's hosting a party at his house next week.
Now, imagine you are talking about this speech to a friend a few weeks after. Since you are reporting this speech after the party, you must use the past tense and change the time words 'next week':
He said that he was hosting a party at his house the week after.
We can change 'next week' to 'the week after' or 'the next week' to talk about these times in the past tense.
Timeless Statements
Some things that people say are not related to a specific time. In these cases, you should keep the present tense when you are reporting your speech.
These statements might be about general truths or statements.
"When finding a job, happiness is more important than money."
She told me that when finding a job, happiness is more important than money.
Because this statement is still true and applicable when you are reporting your speech, you should not change the verb tense.
These statements could also be about habitual events that happen repeatedly.
"A new shipment of books comes in every Tuesday."
The manager said that a new shipment of books comes in every Tuesday.
Because this statement is still true when you are reporting your speech, you should not change the verb tense.
Exercise
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