Direct Speech Reported Speech Simple Present Simple Past Present Progressive Past Progressive Simple Past Past Perfect Simple Present Perfect Simple Past Perfect Simple Past Progressive Past Perfect Progressive Present Perfect Progressive Past Perfect Progressive Future I (going to) was / were going to Future I (will) Conditional I (would) Conditional I (would) The verbs could, should, would, might, must, needn’t, ought to, used to do not normally change. Example: He said, “She might be right.” – He said that she might be right. Place and Time expressions Direct Speech Reported Speech today that day now then Direct Speech Reported Speech yesterday the day before … days ago … days before last week the week before next year the following year tomorrow the next day / the following day here there this that these those Besides, note that instead of ‚that‘ you use the interrogative. If there is no interrogative, use ‚whether‘ / ‚if‘. Direct Speech Reported Speech statement He said: “She lives in London.“ He said that she lived in London question with interrogative He asked:“Where does she live?“ He asked where she lived. question without interrogative He asked: “Does she live in London?“ He asked whether she lived in London. He asked if she lived in London. It is also important that you use an indirect question in reported speech, i.e. after the interrogative or ‚whether‘ / ‚if‘ you continue the sentence as if it were a statement (subject-verb etc.). The auxiliary verb ‚do‘ is not used in indirect questions. Example: He asked: “Where does she live?“ – He asked where she lived For pronouns and place / time expressions see statements in reported speech. Tenses are not relevant for requests – simply use ‚to‘ + infinite verb. Example: She said, “Say hello to your mum.“ – She asked me to say hello to my mum. For negative requests, use ‚not to‘ + infinite verb. Example: He said, “Don’t give up, Bob.“ – He advised Bob not to give up Exceptions Backshift of Simple Present is optional if the situation is still unchanged or if you agree with the original speaker. Beispiel: “Canberra is the capital of Australia.“ She said that Canberra is / was the capital of Australia. Backshift of Simple Past and Past Progressive is optional if they cannot be mistakenly taken for backshift of Present Tense. So backshift is not necessary if there is a time expression indicating past. Example: “She left Boston on Monday.“ He said that she left / had left Boston on Monday. Simple Past and Past Progressive do not normally change in sentences with when / if. Example: “When I was having breakfast, the telephone suddenly rang.“ She said that when she was having breakfast, the telephone suddenly rang. Example: “If I had more time, I would learn French.“ He said that if he had more time, he would learn French. Requests The basic rule for requests is: introductory clause + ‚to‘ + infinite verb. Example: “Say hello to your mum.“ She asked me to say hello to my mum. Advise expressions with must, should and ought are usually reported using advise / urge. Example: “You must read that book.“ He advised / urged me to read that book. The expression let’s is usually reported using suggest. In this case, there are various possibilities for reported speech: gerund or statement with should. Example: “Let’s go to the cinema.“ He suggested going to the cinema. He suggested that we should go.to the cinema.