THE RULES! REPORTED SPEECH
RULES:
1.When we report what was said, we put the sentence one tense back in time. Eg: “I am hungry” – he said he was hungry. “I was tired” – he said he had been tired.
2.If it is already past perfect, it doesn’t change. Eg: “I had already done that” – “he said he had already done that”
3.Will -> would. Can -> could. “I will call you later” – he said he would call me later.
4.Must, should, might, would do not change. Eg: “I must do it” – he said he must do it.
5.This becomes that. “I want this one” – he said he wanted that one.
6.Tomorrow becomes the next day etc. “I’ll do it tomorrow” – he said he would do it the next day.
7. Questions maintain subject-verb-object word order. “Where is the book?” – he asked where the book was. Yes/no questions use if. “Do you like jazz?” – he asked if I liked jazz.
Practice: