Time and Place Expression Changes — English Grammar Exercises
She said, he told me — master indirect speech
Time and Place Changes in Reported Speech
Deictic expressions — words that anchor an utterance to a specific time, place, or object — must shift in reported speech to reflect the change in perspective from speaker to reporter. The complete reference set: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day / the following day, yesterday → the day before / the previous day, now → then, here → there, this → that, these → those, ago → before, last week → the week before, next month → the following month. A single sentence can require three or four simultaneous changes, as exercises rs-48, rs-49, and rs-52 demonstrate. These shifts are context-dependent: if reporting happens immediately after the original utterance, or if the time/place reference remains valid, the original form may be retained. In practice, learners most frequently forget to shift 'here', 'now', and demonstratives even when they correctly backshift the main verb.
now → then | here → there | this → that | ago → before
"I'll be here tomorrow." → He said he would be there the next day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What tenses change in reported speech?
Every tense shifts one step back in time: present simple becomes past simple ('I am tired' → 'she said she was tired'), present continuous becomes past continuous, present perfect becomes past perfect, and will becomes would. Past perfect does not change — it is already as far back as possible. Modals also shift: can → could, may → might, must → had to, shall → would. Modals that are already past (could, would, might, should) remain unchanged.
What is the difference between say and tell in reported speech?
'Tell' always requires a direct person object: 'told me', 'told her', 'told them'. You cannot say 'he told that' — it must be 'he told me that'. 'Say' does not take a direct person object: 'he said that'. If you add a person with 'say', use 'to': 'he said to me that'. Additionally, 'tell' is required in fixed expressions: tell the truth, tell a lie, tell a story, tell the time. For fixed expressions with greetings — say hello, say goodbye, say sorry — 'say' is always used.
How do reported questions work?
Reported questions do not use question word order or auxiliaries like do/does/did. They follow normal statement word order with tense backshift. For yes/no questions, introduce the reported question with 'if' or 'whether': 'Are you coming?' → 'She asked if I was coming.' For wh-questions, keep the question word and use normal order: 'Where do you live?' → 'She asked where I lived.' No question mark is used in reported questions.
Which time and place words change in reported speech?
Time and place words shift to reflect the new perspective. Today → that day, tomorrow → the next day / the following day, yesterday → the day before / the previous day, now → then, here → there, ago → before, this → that, these → those, last week → the week before, next month → the following month. Not every sentence requires these changes — if you are reporting something immediately or if the context has not changed, some shifts may be unnecessary.