Tenses in Reported Speech

Backshift rules: how tenses change in reported speech

intermediate

When to Use

•Reporting past statements: 'I am tired' → She said she was tired.
•Reporting past questions: 'Do you like it?' → He asked if I liked it.
•When reporting verb is past: said, told, asked, explained
•General rule: tenses shift one step back
•Exceptions: universal truths, recent statements

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Present → Past | Past → Past Perfect | Will → Would

Negative (-)

Same backshift applies to negatives

Question (?)

Same backshift + change to statement word order

💡 Backshift: am/is/are → was/were | have/has → had | will → would | can → could

Examples

✓'I love coffee.' → She said she loved coffee.

✗'I love coffee.' → She said she loves coffee.

Present simple → past simple in reported speech.

✓'I have finished.' → He said he had finished.

✗'I have finished.' → He said he has finished.

Present perfect → past perfect.

✓'I will help you.' → She said she would help me.

✗'I will help you.' → She said she will help me.

Will → would in reported speech.

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• Present → Past: am → was, go → went, have → had
• Past → Past Perfect: went → had gone, saw → had seen
• Will → Would, Can → Could, May → Might
• Time words change: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day
• No backshift needed if still true or reporting verb is present

reported-speech reported-questions-commands future-in-the-past 📝 reported-speech-intermediate 📝 tenses-in-reported-speech-quiz

Tenses in Reported Speech

Backshift rules: how tenses change in reported speech

intermediate

When to Use

•Reporting past statements: 'I am tired' → She said she was tired.
•Reporting past questions: 'Do you like it?' → He asked if I liked it.
•When reporting verb is past: said, told, asked, explained
•General rule: tenses shift one step back
•Exceptions: universal truths, recent statements

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Present → Past | Past → Past Perfect | Will → Would

Negative (-)

Same backshift applies to negatives

Question (?)

Same backshift + change to statement word order

💡 Backshift: am/is/are → was/were | have/has → had | will → would | can → could

Examples

✓'I love coffee.' → She said she loved coffee.

✗'I love coffee.' → She said she loves coffee.

Present simple → past simple in reported speech.

✓'I have finished.' → He said he had finished.

✗'I have finished.' → He said he has finished.

Present perfect → past perfect.

✓'I will help you.' → She said she would help me.

✗'I will help you.' → She said she will help me.

Will → would in reported speech.

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• Present → Past: am → was, go → went, have → had
• Past → Past Perfect: went → had gone, saw → had seen
• Will → Would, Can → Could, May → Might
• Time words change: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day
• No backshift needed if still true or reporting verb is present

reported-speech reported-questions-commands future-in-the-past 📝 reported-speech-intermediate 📝 tenses-in-reported-speech-quiz

Tenses in Reported Speech

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

Tenses in Reported Speech

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗He said he is coming.

✗She told that she was tired.

✗'I went home.' → He said he had went home.

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗He said he is coming.

✗She told that she was tired.

✗'I went home.' → He said he had went home.

💡 Practice Tips

Related