Backshift in Reported Speech

direct speech reported speech

He said: "I feel sad." He said that he felt sad.

In simple terms, the structure of reported speech is:

reporting clause [+ conjuntion] + reported clause

reporting clause conjunction reported clause

John said (that) he was hungry.

John's original words: "I am hungry."

We sometimes change the tense of the reported clause by moving it back one tense. For example, present simple goes
back one tense to past simple. We call this change "backshift".
When do we use backshift?
We use backshift when it is logical to use backshift. So, for example, if two minutes agoJohn said "I am hungry" and I am
now telling his sister, I might NOT use backshift (because John is still hungry):
 John just said that he is hungry.
But if yesterday John said "I am hungry" and I am now telling his sister, I would likely use backshift:
 Yesterday, John said that he was hungry.
[We hope that John has eaten since yesterday ;-) ]
So we use backshift SOMETIMES but not always. And WHEN we use backshift, here's how it works with these common
tenses and modals:

backshift

this goes back to this

present simple → past simple

present continuous → past continuous

past simple → past perfect

present perfect

past continuous → past perfect continuous

can → could

may might

will would

shall should

We NEVER use backshift when the original words are:

 past perfect
 could
 might
 would
 should
Remember:
  If a situation is still true, backshift is optional.
 For a general truth there is no need for backshift.
Look at the following examples. See if you can understand when and why they use backshift:

tenses and
modals direct speech reported speech

present simple* He said, "I like coffee." He said (that) he likes coffee.

He said (that) he liked coffee.

present She said, "Moo is living here with us." She said Moo is living there with them.
continuous*
She said Moo was living there with them.

past simple John said, "We bought a house last week." John said they had bought a house the week
before.

present perfect Ram said, "I haven't seen Avatar." Ram said he hadn't seen Avatar.

past continuous Wayne said, "Were you watching TV when I Wayne asked if I had been watching TV when
called." he called.

past perfect** Ati said, "I had never lived in Thailand before." Ati told us that he had never lived in Thailand
before.

can She said, "Tara can't swim." She said Tara couldn't swim.

She said Tara can't swim.

could** He said, "Could you swim when you were He asked me if I could swim when I was three.
three?"

may She said: "I may be late." She said she might be late. (and she was late)

She said she may be late. (the time to be late

has not yet arrived)

might** She said, "I might come early." She said she might come early.

will She said, "I'll call you tomorrow." She said she would call me the next day.

She said she will call me tomorrow. (tomorrow

has not come)

would** She said, "I wouldn't like to go." She said she would not like to go.

shall He said: "Shall I open the door?" He asked if he should open the door.

should** John said, "You should come here." John said I should go there.

must The kidnapper phoned me and said: "You The kidnapper phoned me and said I had to go
must come here now." there then.
 tenses and
modals direct speech reported speech

Ati said, "I must find a job next year." Ati said he must find a job next year. (next year
hasn't come yet)

have to Tara said: "I have to do my homework." Tara said she had to do her homework.

Tara says she has to do her homework.

* if still true, change is optional (sometimes a matter of emphasis)

** never changes

Put the following sentences into reported (indirect) speech:

1. She said to me: “I am going to town with my brother.”
2. They said: “We are ready to come with you.”
3. Kim said: “We enjoyed ourselves at the party.”
4. I said: “I am not guilty.”
5. She said to her mum: “I have been learning all the morning.”
6. He said: “I don’t like sweets.”
7. Susan said: “My parents never let me stay out late.”
8. He said: “I’ve been on the web since 2005.”
9. “I just don’t want to visit them”, she said.
10. “We are going away, mother”, he said.

Imagine you want to repeat sentences that you heard two weeks ago in another
place. Rewrite the sentences in reported speech. Change tenses, pronouns and
expressions of time and place where necessary:
1. They said, "This is our book."
2. She said, "I went to the cinema yesterday."
3. He said to us, "I am writing a test tomorrow."
4. You said, "I will do this for him."
5. She said to her granny, "I am not hungry now."
6. They said, "We have never been here before."
7. They said to us, "We were in London last week."
8. He said, "I will have finished this paper by tomorrow."
9. He said to his wife, "They won't sleep."
10. She said, "It is very quiet here."

If we want to make questions in the English language, we can do it by changing the word order (Is he your
brother? Was she there? Have you been to Ireland?) or by using the auxiliary do (Do you know them? Does he
live with you? Did you enjoy it?)

The indirect questions are not normal questions. They have the same word order as statements and we do
not use the verb do to form a question. They usually come after introductory phrases combined with
interrogative pronouns and adjectives (who, whom, what, which, whose), adverbs (when, where, how,
why) or if, whether.

Compare the following direct and indirect questions:

What did she want? - Do you know what she wanted?
Where was it? - Do you remember where it was?
Will they come? - I wonder if they will come.
We can use many introductory phrases such as I ask, I wonder, I want/would like to know, I can't remember, I
have no idea, I am sure etc., or they can be introduced by expressions such as Can you tell me, Do you know,
Do you remember, Have you any idea.

Look at more examples to understand the changes:

How much is it? - I'd like to know how much it is.
Is this seat free? - He is asking if this seat is free.
Where did she go? - Have you any idea where she went?
Does he want to buy it? - Do you know whether he wants to buy it?

The indirect questions are more common in English than in some other languages. They are more polite and
more formal. Compare the following examples.
Why did you do it? - Could you tell me why you did it?
Could I use your telephone? - Do you think I could use your telephone?
Are you married? - I wonder if you are married.

You have to interview someone for a job in your company.

Choose the correct indirect questions that you'll ask from the options below.
1: (A) Could you tell us what you studied at university?
(B) Could you tell us what did you study at university?
2: (A) Can you tell me how long you have been working in sales?
(B) Can you tell me how long have you been working in sales?
3: (A) Could you tell me why you want this job?
(B) Could you tell me why do you want this job?
4: (A) Can you tell us how long were you with your last company?
(B) Can you tell us how long you were with your last company?
5: (A) Would you mind telling me why did you leave your previous job?
(B) Would you mind telling me why you left your previous job?
6: (A) And finally, can you tell us what salary you expect?
(B) And finally, can you tell us what salary do you expect?