A puzzling grammatical rule

Question

Direct speech: “We lived in China for 5 years.” Reported speech: She told me they had lived in China for 5 years.The past simple tense (we lived) usually changes to the past perfect (they had lived) in reported speech.I would like to know if it is possible not to change the past simple tense (we lived)  to the past perfect (they had lived) in reported speech. Is there a rule that helps me to know when I can change the past simple tense into past perfect and when I can leave it unchanged?

Englishmaven · Accepted Answer

The past perfect is often called "a previous past" because it is used to express that some past event happened before another past event. If that is important in your communication, you would want to use the past perfect. Otherwise, you could use the simple present tense if you prefer.

I had called you before you bought the tickets to remind you that I couldn't attend the play. Yo

I had called you before you bought the tickets to remind you that I couldn't attend the play. You didn't remember my call, so you bought a ticket for me anyway. (My phone call happened before the person bought the tickets. The order of events is important.)

CalifJim · Answer

Omar AhmedI would like to know if it is possible not to change the past simple tense (we lived) to the past perfect (they had lived) in reported speech.

I don't regard that as a rule except within the walls of a classroom. These "rules" are sometimes given only for the purpose of giving students an opportunity to work with the past perfect. The teacher can then check that the students know how to form that tense properly.

When the lesson is finished and the past perfect is well known to the students, they can relax and use just the past simple when the context allows for it and the past perfect when it's necessary for clarity.

CJ

A puzzling grammatical rule

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