Indirect speech 1

When we tell people what somebody said or thought we often use indirect speech.Statements are usually reported with a past tense verb and optional that. The form of the verb that follows the moves back in time.

Tenses and pronouns change in indirect speech if the time and speaker are different:

Direct Indirect speech

Present Indefinite - Past Indefinite

Present Continuous - Past Continuous

Present Perfect - Past Perfect

Past Indefinite - Past Perfect

Future Indefinite - Future Indefinite in the Past

We also change some time and place expressions if the context has changed:

Direct Indirect speech

This that

These those

Here there

Now then

Today that day

This week that week

Yesterday the day before

Last week the week before

Two days ago two days before

Tomorrow the next day

Next week the next week

Direct speech «I am a very sorry». Jane: “I will be ready in a moment ”     She said, “ My name is Lena ”. (Она сказала: «Меня зовут Лена».)     He said, “ I will come tomorrow ”.     She said, “ I wasn’t here yesterday ”.     Jane said, “I don’t like this book”.   My father said, “ I visited this place two years ago ”.

Indirect speech He says (that)he is very sorry. Jane says that she’ll be ready in a moment.   She said that her name was Lena. She told that her name was Lena. (Она сказала, что ее зовут Лена.)   He said (told me) (that) he would come the next day.   She said (told us) (that) she had been there the day before.   Jane said she didn’t like that book.   My father told me that he had visited that place two years before.