Change of tenses in direct and indirect speech
A) Rule – 01:
If the reporting verb of direct speech is present tense or future tense, then there is no change in the tense of the verb of reported speech. Only the ‘person changing rules’ acts.
Example:
Direct: He says to me, “I can do it”
Indirect: He says to me that he can do it.
Direct: He will say, “I did not go there”
Indirect: He will say that he did not go there.
Rule -02:
If any eternal truth or the habitual truth reveals in the reported speech, then no matter the tense of reporting verb, there is no change in the tense of the verb of reported speech.
Example:
Direct: The teacher said, “ The earth moves around the sun”.
Indirect: The teacher said that the earth moves around the sun.
Direct: Mina said, “ Every day I read the newspaper”.
Indirect: Mina said that every day I read the newspaper.
B) Rule – 03:
If the reporting verb is past tense, the reported speech is changed to corresponding (similar) past tense.
| Tense of the reported speech verb in Direct narration | Tense of the reported speech verb in Indirect narration |
|---|---|
| Present Indefinite Tense Rita said, “Andrew writes a letter.” | Past Indefinite Tense Rita said that Andrew wrote a letter. |
| Present Continuous Tense Rita said, “Andrew is working. | Past Continuous Tense: Rita said that Andrew was working. |
| Present Perfect Tense Daniel said, “We have got plenty of time to work” | Past Perfect Tense Daniel said that they had got plenty of time to work. |
| Present Perfect Continuous Tense: The students said, “We have been playing for one hour.” | Past Perfect Continuous Tense: The students said that they had been playing for one hour. |
| Past Indefinite Tense They said, “We came by car.” | Past Perfect Tense They said that they had come by car. |
| Past Continuous Tense Mathew said to me, “I was not listening to your voice.” | Past Perfect Continuous Tense Mathew told me that he had not been listening to my voice. |
| Past Perfect tense David said, “My money had run out.” | Past Perfect Tense ( No change) David said that his money had run out. |
| Past Perfect Continuous Tense Laura said, “I had been reading in this university for two years.” | Past Perfect Continuous Tense ( No change) Laura said that she had been reading in that university for two years.” |
| Future Tense She said to me, “I shall help you.” | Future in Past tense She told me that she would help me. |
Change of Adverb ( Place and Time) :
| Direct Narration (reported speech) | Indirect Narration ( reported speech) |
|---|---|
| Here | There |
| Hence | Thence |
| Hither | Thither |
| Come | Go |
| Now | Then |
| Next (day/month/week/year/decade/century) | Following (day/month/week/year/decade/century) |
| Today | That day |
| Thus | So/In that way |
| These (days) | Those ( days) |
| This/ it ( evening/ morning/ noon etc.) | That ( evening/ morning/ noon etc.) |
| This day | That day |
| Tonight | That night |
| Tomorrow | The next/ following day |
| Last night | The previous night |
| Last ( week/ month/year/ decade/ century) | The previous (week/ month/year/ decade/ century) |
| Yesterday | The day before/ The previous day |
Change of tenses in direct and indirect speech
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