Change of Tenses in the Reporting Speech:
1. Past Tense:
If the Reporting Verb is in the Past Tense and the Reporting Speech is in Past Tense
(all kinds: simple/continuous/perfect/perfect, continuous): Then we make the following
changes in the reporting speech accordingly.
Rules | Examples |
The simple past tense is changed to the past perfect tense. | Direct: They said, "We played cricket.” Indirect: They said that they had played cricket. Direct: She said, "I finished my homework." Direct: He said, "I visited my grandparents last week." Direct: They said, "We saw a movie yesterday." Direct: She said, "I lost my keys." Direct: He said, "I met Sarah at the party." Direct: The teacher said, "You made a mistake." Direct: My friend said, "I bought a new phone." Direct: She said, "I forgot to call you." Direct: He said, "I found my wallet in the car." Direct: They said, "We finished the project on time." |
The past continuous tense is changed to the past perfect continuous tense. | Direct: She explained, ”I was playing a guitar.” Indirect: She explained that she had been playing a guitar. Direct: She said, "I was studying for my exams." Direct: He said, "I was watching TV when you called." Direct: They said, "We were playing football." Direct: She said, "My mother was cooking dinner." Direct: The teacher said, "You were not paying attention." Direct: He said, "I was waiting for the bus." Direct: She said, "We were traveling to Paris last summer." Direct: They said, "It was raining when we left." Direct: He said, "I was learning Spanish at that time." Direct: She said, "I was feeling very tired." |
The past perfect tense remains unchanged. | Direct: She said, ”I had already completed my work. Indirect: She said that she had already completed her work. Direct: She said, "I had finished my homework." Direct: He said, "I had seen that movie before." Direct: They said, "We had completed the project." Direct: She said, "I had visited Paris twice." Direct: The teacher said, "You had made a mistake." Direct: He said, "I had lost my keys." Direct: She said, "We had never been to London before." Direct: They said, "The train had already left." Direct: He said, "I had just eaten lunch." Direct: She said, "I had bought a new dress." |
The past perfect continuous tense remains unchanged. | Direct: He said, ”I had been living in Lahore since 2001.” Indirect: He said that he had been living in Lahore since 2001. Direct: She said, "I had been studying for three hours." Direct: He said, "I had been working at the company for five years." Direct: They said, "We had been waiting for the bus for 30 minutes." Direct: She said, "I had been feeling sick all day." Direct: The teacher said, "You had been talking during the lesson." Direct: He said, "I had been reading that book before you arrived." Direct: She said, "We had been living in New York for ten years." Direct: They said, "It had been raining since morning." Direct: He said, "I had been trying to call you all day." Direct: She said, "I had been thinking about moving to another city." |
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