Agreement of tenses in reported speech: How and When to Use in English
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Agreement of tenses in reported speech
Tense agreement in indirect speech works like this:
I think (that) I am going to leave (in half an hour). (present progressive)
I thought (that) I was going to leave (but in the end, I decided to stay). (past progressive)
I thought (that) I was going to leave (but in the end, I decided to stay). (past progressive)
I think (that) he will come (to my party tomorrow). (future)
I thought he would come (but in fact he didn't). (future in the past)
I thought he would come (but in fact he didn't). (future in the past)
I think he has lost his keys. (present perfect simple)
I thought he had lost his keys. (past perfect simple)
I thought he had lost his keys. (past perfect simple)
I think he has been working here for 3 years. (present perfect progressive)
I thought he had been working here for 3 years. (past perfect progressive)
I thought he had been working here for 3 years. (past perfect progressive)
Indirect speech is usually used to repeat what someone has said:
Bob said he would clean up his desk. Bob's actual words were 'I will clean up my desk'.
Bruno told me he was going to take a vacation soon. Bruno's actual words were 'I am going to take a vacation soon'.
Exercise 1
Bruno: Well, I thought Horatio be here by now, but I guess I'm wrong.
Harold: No problem, Delavigne. I we should get started.
Harold: No problem, Delavigne. I we should get started.
Bruno: Well, I thought Horatio would 1 be here by now, but I guess I'm wrong.
Harold: No problem, Delavigne. I think 2 we should get started.
Harold: No problem, Delavigne. I think 2 we should get started.
1 would: This is the best choice here. Because the main verb is in the preterit tense (thought), we use 'would' to express the conditional here. We know that we need the conditional because the verb directly after the blank is in the infinitive (be). This tells us not to use the preterit again. Example: I hoped you would come.
1 will: 'Will' is the auxiliary used to express the future. It is incorrect here because the main verb is already in the preterit tense.
1 is: 'Is' is conjugated in the present tense. We cannot use it here because the main verb is already in the preterit tense, and because 'is be' is grammatically incorrect.
1 had: Although 'had' is conjugated in the preterit like the main verb, we cannot use it here because 'had be' is grammatically incorrect. We could say, however: 'I thought Horatio 'would have been' here by now'.
2 think: This is the best choice here. Because the second part of the sentence (we should get started) carries a sense of future in the present, we must use the present tense 'think' as the main verb. Example: I think we should see your mother.
2 thinks: 'Thinks' is the third-person singular conjugation of the verb 'to think' in the present simple tense. It is incorrect to use it with the subject 'I'.
2 thought: Because the action 'should get started' is in the present tense, we cannot use the preterit 'thought' here.
2 had thought: Because the action 'should get started' is in the present tense, we cannot use the past perfect 'had thought' here.
Exercise 2
Today, Philip Cheeter one of the most important members of the Delavigne team. Nearly ten years ago, when he first joined us, Philip voted the employee of the year. Since then, he won several sales awards. And only last week, the Bull Street Journal said they going to write an article about him.
Today, Philip Cheeter is 1 one of the most important members of the Delavigne team. Nearly ten years ago, when he first joined us, Philip was 2 voted the employee of the year. Since then, he has 3 won several sales awards. And only last week, the Bull Street Journal said they were 4 going to write an article about him.
1 is: This sentence requires a present tense verb, as indicated by the term 'today', which places this action in the present tense.
1 was: Because we are speaking about 'today' we must use a present tense verb here.
1 will be: Because we are speaking about 'today' we must use a present tense verb here.
2 was: In the past tense, the third person singular form of 'to be' is was. This sentence uses a verb in the passive voice (was voted).
2 were: 'Were' is the past tense conjugation of the verb 'to be' only in the 'you', 'we' and 'they' forms.
2 is: The phrase 'nearly 10 years ago' places this this action in the past tense, we cannot use a present tense verb form here.
3 has: 'Has' is the appropriate auxiliary in this case.
3 was: The auxiliary 'to be' is never used to create perfect tenses, the auxiliary 'have' is used to do this.
3 is: The auxiliary 'to be' is never used to create perfect tenses, the auxiliary 'have' is used to do this.
4 were: When reporting what someone said in the past, the verbs in the statement normally 'go back one tense'. This means that verbs in the present become verbs in the past. We need to use 'were' here because we are reporting speech.
4 will: We cannot use 'will' to precede the verb 'going to', because it already implies the future action.
4 be: The verb 'to be' needs to be conjugated in this case. It is grammatically incorrect to use the infinitive form.
4 are: Last week the Bull Street Journal would have said 'we are going to write an article about Philip Cheeter'. But as this is a reported statement, verbs in the present become verbs in the past. Therefore, 'are' becomes 'were'.
Exercise 3
Susie: I thought I going to die laughing earlier when Horatio ran through the hallway naked.
Polly: It's got to stop! The man is a walking safety hazard.
Susie: I don't know. I think he just a little eccentric.
Polly: Eccentric! I'm sure he be less eccentric if he stopped drinking mimosas for breakfast.
Susie: You're such a moralist.
Polly: It's got to stop! The man is a walking safety hazard.
Susie: I don't know. I think he just a little eccentric.
Polly: Eccentric! I'm sure he be less eccentric if he stopped drinking mimosas for breakfast.
Susie: You're such a moralist.
Susie: I thought I was 1 going to die laughing earlier when Horatio ran through the hallway naked.
Polly: It's got to stop! The man is a walking safety hazard.
Susie: I don't know. I think he is 2 just a little eccentric.
Polly: Eccentric! I'm sure he would 3 be less eccentric if he stopped drinking mimosas for breakfast.
Susie: You're such a moralist.
Polly: It's got to stop! The man is a walking safety hazard.
Susie: I don't know. I think he is 2 just a little eccentric.
Polly: Eccentric! I'm sure he would 3 be less eccentric if he stopped drinking mimosas for breakfast.
Susie: You're such a moralist.
1 was: This is the correct choice. Because the main verb (thought) is in the past simple (preterit) tense, the verb that follows (was) must also be in the preterit tense.
1 am: We cannot use 'am' here because it is the present tense, and Susie is talking about an event in the past (earlier).
1 had: 'Had going' is not a valid verb construction.
1 had been: 'Had been going' is the past perfect progressive tense, which does not make sense here. The past perfect tense is usually used with the past simple to express an action
2 is: This is the best choice here. Because the main verb (think) is in the present simple tense, and because Susie is making a general statement and not talking about a specific event, the verb which follows (is) must also be put in the present simple tense.
2 was: Because Susie is not talking about a specific past event, we cannot use the past simple tense 'was' here.
2 has been: This is incorrect. The present perfect (has been) does not make sense here to express the idea of Horatio's eccentricity.
2 had been: This is incorrect. The past perfect (had been) does not make sense here to express the idea of Horatio's eccentricity.
3 would: This is the best choice here. Because the second part of the sentence begins with the clause 'if he stopped', we must use 'would' to express the conditional conclusion of the phrase.
3 will: Because the verb which follows (stopped) is in the preterit tense, we cannot use the future auxiliary 'will' here.
3 was: 'He was be more alert' is not a valid verb construction.
3 is: 'He is be more alert' is not a valid verb construction.
Exercise 4
Replace the subject and verb in each of the blanks below with the appropriate conjugated form. Modal verbs (should, could, would, etc) are NOT needed here.
Be careful of word order!
Luna: Hey, Bob, you're one of my favorite people in the office! I was wondering. How long at Delavigne?
Bob: Oh, you mean in my current role? at Delavigne for... hmm... let's say eight years.
Luna: I thought longer than that.
Bob: Yeah, you're probably right. How about you? You're a current Delavigne employee.
Luna: roughly five years ago... or maybe six.
Be careful of word order!
Luna: Hey, Bob, you're one of my favorite people in the office! I was wondering. How long at Delavigne?
Bob: Oh, you mean in my current role? at Delavigne for... hmm... let's say eight years.
Luna: I thought longer than that.
Bob: Yeah, you're probably right. How about you? You're a current Delavigne employee.
Luna: roughly five years ago... or maybe six.
Replace the subject and verb in each of the blanks below with the appropriate conjugated form. Modal verbs (should, could, would, etc) are NOT needed here.
Be careful of word order!
Luna: Hey, Bob, you're one of my favorite people in the office! I was wondering. How long [not done] have you been working 1 at Delavigne?
Bob: Oh, you mean in my current role? [not done] I have been working 2 at Delavigne for... hmm... let's say eight years.
Luna: I thought [not done] it had been 3 longer than that.
Bob: Yeah, you're probably right. How about you? You're a current Delavigne employee.
Luna: [not done] I arrived 4 roughly five years ago... or maybe six.
Be careful of word order!
Luna: Hey, Bob, you're one of my favorite people in the office! I was wondering. How long [not done] have you been working 1 at Delavigne?
Bob: Oh, you mean in my current role? [not done] I have been working 2 at Delavigne for... hmm... let's say eight years.
Luna: I thought [not done] it had been 3 longer than that.
Bob: Yeah, you're probably right. How about you? You're a current Delavigne employee.
Luna: [not done] I arrived 4 roughly five years ago... or maybe six.
1 have you been working: Because Bob still works at Delavigne, we use the present perfect progressive 'have been working' to show the continuous time from past to present. We also invert the subject and verb (have you) because Luna is asking a question.
2 I have been working: Because Bob still works at Delavigne, we use the present perfect progressive 'have been working' to show the continuous time from past to present. The contracted form 'I've' also works here. Note that either the present perfect progressive or present perfect are acceptable with the verbs 'live' and 'work', for example: I have been living / have lived in Paris for a long time.
3 it had been: This past perfect (progressive) tense is acceptable here to agree with the preterit verb 'thought' which Luna uses earlier in the sentence. Note that the preterit form is also acceptable here: 'I thought it was longer than that'.
4 I arrived: Because Luna is talking about when she first came to Delavigne, we use the preterit tense 'arrived'. Note that whenever 'ago' is used, we generally find a preterit tense main verb.
Exercise 5
I am not sure Luna to my dinner party next week. Last Monday, she me that she whale watching with Jean. I think she might be lying though, because although she loves whales, she hates Jean.
I am not sure Luna will come 1 to my dinner party next week. Last Monday, she told 2 me that she was going 3 whale watching with Jean. I think she might be lying though, because although she loves whales, she hates Jean.
1 will come: We use the future tense construction 'will come' because Luna's possible attendance of the party will take place in the future (next week). The simple future tense is formed with the auxiliary 'will' and the infinitive form of the main verb (to come).
1 came: The phrase 'next week' indicates that this action will take place in the future. Using a past tense form of the verb doesn't make sense here.
1 comes: The simple present tense is used to describe regular habitual actions, or permanent truths ('I go to school every day', 'The house is red'). Using the present tense with a future action does not make sense.
2 told: Because the action takes place in the past (last Monday), it makes sense to use the simple past tense here. 'To tell' is an irregular verb: tell/told/told.
2 tells: 'She tells me' is incorrect because we know the action takes place in the past, and so we must use the past tense form of the verb 'to tell'.
2 telled: The verb 'to tell' is irregular and cannot be conjugated as 'telled' in any tense. To tell: tell/told/told.
2 said: We cannot 'say something someone'. Although we can 'say something to someone', a more natural construction here would be 'She told me...'. The verb 'to say' must be followed by 'to' when it takes an object: 'I remember saying to him that his eating habits were unhealthy'.
3 was going: This construction is an example of 'reported speech' (or indirect speech). When reporting something that has been said in the past (Luna told me last Monday) the verb in the second clause will use a past tense verb construction, but may indicate a future event. We can imagine that, in the past, Luna said 'I am going whale watching with Jean'. When reporting or relaying this information, we have to use verbs in their past tense forms. So 'I'm going whale watching' becomes '(she) was going whale watching'.
3 went: Because this action has not yet taken place, (Luna will be whale watching at the time of the dinner party), the simple past tense, used to describe completed past actions, cannot be used here.
3 goes: Using the simple present tense in this construction is grammatically incorrect. Luna told the speaker about her plans to watch whales in the past, not the present.
3 will going: 'Will going' is grammatically incorrect. The 'ING' form of a verb cannot directly follow an auxiliary. However, we might say, 'I may BE going to Afghanistan next month'.
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