Reported speech grammar question

Question

Hello again,There are cases in reported speech when we don't change the tenses. In the exercise I'm doing I found that the tense is not changed, but i dont understand why.Can you please explain and check the second task as well.1) Please explain no change in the tense.Direct:Hi, Mum. It's Lucy here, just phoning to say Happy Birthday. I'm going to be out all afternoon but I'll try you again later.Reported:Lucy phoned to say Happy Birthday. She said she is going to be out (why not: She said she was going...) all afternoon but she'll (why not: she would) try you later again.2) Please check the reported part.Direct:Oh, hello. This is Christine. I'm phoning to find out the results of my blood test. I'm going on holiday tomorrow morning so I'd be grateful if you could ring me back later.Reported:Doctor. Christine left a message earlier today. She said she was phoning to find out the results of her blood test. She also said that she was going on holiday next morning and would be grateful if you could ring her back.Thank you for any help.Martin

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

There are cases in reported speech when we don't change the tenses. In the exercise I'm doing I found that the tense is not changed, but i dont understand why.
Can you please explain and check the second task as well.

1) Please explain no change in the tense.
Direct:
Hi, Mum. It's Lucy here, just phoning to say Happy Birthday. I'm going to be out all afternoon but I'll try you again later.

Reported:
Lucy phoned to wish you a happy birthday ~~say Happy Birthday~~. She said she is going to be out (why not: She said she was going...) all afternoon but she'll (why not: she would) try you later again.
The tenses used show that the speech is being reported before the end of the afternoon. ie The sentence is talking about the future rather than the past.

Here's a simpler example.
Tom: Mary, I will call you tomorrow.
Mary: Sorry, I didn't hear you. What did you say?
Tom: I said that I will call you tomorrow.

2) Please check the reported part.
Direct:
Oh, hello. This is Christine. I'm phoning to find out the results of my blood test. I'm going on holiday tomorrow morning so I'd be grateful if you could ring me back later.

Reported:
Doctor. Christine left a message earlier today. She said she was phoning to find out the results of her blood test. She also said that she was ('is' would also be OK) going on holiday ~~next~~ tomorrow morning and would be grateful if you could ring her back.

Clive

Enoon · Answer

The people I know would likely say that Lucy said she was going to be out and that she would call later. The way your exercise has it is correct, and you should learn it that way, but in informal speech nobody bothers to do the math necessary to keep the tenses straight, and they often just let everything slip into past tense because it all did happen in the past, didn't it? The exercise is correct because Lucy is still out, and she has not called yet.

The Christine example is flawed. "Next morning" is unidiomatic, in my dialect, anyway, and if we are to use tenses that correspond to the times, she said that she would be going on holiday tomorrow.

Morrru · Answer

Thank you for your reply. I'd also like to ask about the following:

'Could I have my toys now?' asked John. 'Then I could start playing with them'
John asked whether he could have his toys then, so that he could start playing with them.

Normally "could" does not change when reported as shown above, but in my exercise book I've found it sometimes changes into "had been able to".

'I couldn't ask her about the computer' said John, 'because she'd gone out to lunch.'
John said that he hadn't been able to ask her about the computer because she had gone out for a lunch.

Thanks for any reply.

Clive · Answer

Hi,
I'd also like to ask about the following:

'Could I have my toys now?' asked John. 'Then I could start playing with them'< < < ' Could' here refers to future possibility.
John asked whether he could have his toys then, so that he could start playing with them. Fine.

Normally "could" does not change when reported as shown above, but in my exercise book I've found it sometimes changes into "had been able to".

'I couldn't ask her about the computer' said John, 'because she'd gone out to lunch.' < < < 'Could' here refers to past possibility
John said that he hadn't been able to ask her about the computer because she had gone out for a lunch. Fine.

Clive

Morrru · Answer

I have one more question regarding reported speech. There is no change in the tenses when the verb of the sentence is in the unreal past, like in:

Direct:
"I'd rather do this not that."
Reported:
She said she would rather do that and not the other thing.

Direct:
"She looks as if she were the boss."
Reported:
She said that she looked as if she were the boss.

But some unreal past expressions change the tense which is the part of this expression, like in:

Direct:
"It's time I had to leave"
Reported:
He said that it was time he had to leave.

Is it correct? And is it the same for the other unreal past expressions like whises, suppose or 2nd type conditional? For instance:

Direct:
"I wish he were here now."
Reported:
He said he wished he were here then. ??

Direct:
"Suppose he is not at home."
Reported:
He presumed that he is not at home. ??

Direct:
She said, "If I were you, I would leave."
Reported:
She said that she would leave if she had been him. ??

Waiting for your corrections/advice.

Martin

Clive · Answer

Hi,

All OK except as noted.

I have one more question regarding reported speech. There is no change in the tenses when the verb of the sentence is in the unreal past, like in:

Direct:
"I'd rather do this not that."
Reported:
She said she would rather do that and not the other thing.
(I suggest She said would rather do one thing and not the other.).
Direct:

"She looks as if she were the boss."
Reported:
She said that she looked as if she were the boss.

But some unreal past expressions change the tense which is the part of this expression, like in:

Direct:
"It's time I had to leave" <<<<< Incorrect. "It's time I left."
Reported:
He said that it was time he had to leave. He said it was time he left.

Is it correct? And is it the same for the other unreal past expressions like whises, suppose or 2nd type conditional? For instance:

Direct:
"I wish he were here now."
Reported:
He said he wished he were here then. ??
OK, but
He said he wished that he were there then.

Direct:
"Suppose he is not at home."
Reported:
He presumed that he was is not at home. ??
Or
eg He asked people to suppose that he was not at home.

Direct:
She said, "If I were you, I would leave."
Reported:
She said that she would leave if she were ~~had been~~ him. ??

Clive

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