Reference · module 22
He said that
Everything this module explains, on one page.
The tense steps back
Report what somebody told you.
- When you report speech, English moves the tense one step back. I am tired becomes He said he was tired. Present becomes past.
- The past goes back too, into the past perfect: I saw her becomes He said he had seen her. And will becomes would.
- The pronouns move with it, and that can be left out: He said he was tired, or He said that he was tired. Both are correct.
The mistake you are about to make
He said he is tired.
He said he was tired.
Most languages keep the tense the speaker used. English steps it back: is becomes was, saw becomes had seen, will becomes would.
Reporting a question
Say what somebody asked.
- A reported question loses its question order: Where do you live? becomes He asked where I lived. The helper disappears entirely.
- A yes-or-no question takes if or whether: Are you coming? becomes She asked if I was coming. Both words work and if is commoner.
- And the question mark goes. He asked where I lived is a statement about a question, so it ends with a full stop.
The mistake you are about to make
He asked where do I live.
He asked where I lived.
The question keeps its shape inside the sentence in most languages. English drops the auxiliary entirely and goes back to statement order.
told, asked, offered
Choose a verb that says more than said.
- say and tell split by whether a person follows. He said something. He told me something. tell needs the person; say refuses it without to.
- Many reporting verbs take to plus a verb: He offered to help. She promised to call. He refused to answer. The pattern is the same each time.
- The verb you choose reports the intention, not just the words. He suggested going, he insisted on going and he threatened to go are three different afternoons.
The mistake you are about to make
He said me that.
He told me that.
One verb covers both in most languages. English splits them by whether a person follows: tell takes one directly, say needs to.
When the tense stays
Know when reported speech leaves the tense alone.
- If the thing is still true, the tense can stay: He said he lives in Berlin. He still does, and the present says so.
- And if the reporting verb is present, nothing shifts at all: He says he's tired. Only said pulls the sentence backwards.
- The time words shift too: today becomes that day, tomorrow becomes the next day, here becomes there. They move for the same reason the tenses do.
The mistake you are about to make
He said he would call tomorrow.
He said he would call the next day.
The verb gets shifted and the time words get forgotten. They move for the same reason: tomorrow becomes the next day, here becomes there.