Sequence of Tenses

He lives in New York. I thought that he lived in New York (живет).	Одновременное действие
She is sleeping. I knew that she was sleeping (спит).	Одновременное действие
He bought a new car. I heard that he had bought a new car (купил).	Предшествующее действие
He will send us a letter. I supposed that he would send us a letter (отправит).	Последующее действие

a) Say and tell

If you say who you are talking to, use tell:

— Tom told me (that) he didn’t like Nick.

Otherwise use say:

— Tom said (that) he didn’t like Nick.

You have to say:

— Tom told us (or me / them / Ann etc.) about his trip to America.

If you don’t say who he told, you have to say:

— Tom talked (or spoke) about his trip to America.

b) Sometimes time and place words from direct speech have to be changed in reported speech, depending on the context.

Direct speech	Reported speech
today	that day
yesterday	the day before
tomorrow	the next day
… ago	… before
this …	that …
here	there
last year	the year before
next …	the following..

— We’re leaving for London tomorrow. (direct) →Kate said they were leaving for London the next day. (reported)

— It’s here. (direct) → He said it was there. (reported)

c) We use the infinitive in reported speech for orders and requests:

He said, He told me He asked me

“Keep quiet! Don’t make noise!” to keep quiet and not to make noise.

d) When a question is reported, the word order changes.

direct	The policeman said to me, “Have you got a driving licence?”
reported	The policeman asked me if (or whether) I had a driving licence.