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
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