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Practical English Usage saysdon't say/write : She told me she has a headache.say/write : She told me she had a headache.Why she told me she has a headache is not grammatical? I think she told me she has a headache can be possible if she has still a headache. Practical English Usage also says :After past reporting verbs, we usually change the original tenses even if the things the original speaker said are still true. I told the police I was British. (The speaker still is British) Didn't you hear me? I asked how old you were.However, it is often also possible to keep the original speaker's tenses in these cases.  Didn't you hear me? I asked how old you are.This is why I think she told me she has a headache can be possible insofar as the thing she said is still true.  Am I wrong?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

AnonymousPractical English Usage saysdon't say/write : She told me she has a headache.say/write : She told me she had a headache.

Even my old 2nd edition makes it clear (section 482.4) that "a reporter can often choose whether to keep the original tenses or change them."

Anonymous · Answer

You mean that She told me she has a headache can be possible?
It is from Third Edition ('Don't say it! 130 common mistakes'). According to the book, It's one of mistakes that intermediate students often make.

Check in the sections to see why they're wrong. (section 275)
However, Section 275 also says it (...However, it is often also possible to keep the original speaker's tenses in these cases. e.g. Didn't you hear me? I asked how old you are.) So, I supposed that she told me she has a headache could also be possible to mean the thing she said is still true.

Mister Micawber"a reporter can often choose whether to keep the original tenses or change them."

Your explanation makes me become assured.

Mister Micawber · Answer

AnonymousYou mean that She told me she has a headache can be possible?It is from Third Edition ('Don't say it! 130 common mistakes'). According to the book, It's one of mistakes that intermediate students often make.

As long as she presumably still has the headache, it is fine, and I suspect that Swan's book (whichever edition) makes that point somewhere in the accompanying text.

Fivejedjon · Answer

AnonymousIt is from Third Edition ('Don't say it! 130 common mistakes'). According to the book, It's one of mistakes that intermediate students often make.5

In the section in the third edition where it says that, you are referred to section 275.
In section 275.4, some of which you quoted yourself, we are told (my emphasis added):

After past reporting verbs, we usually change the original tenses even if the things the original speaker said are still true [...] However, it is often also possible to keep the original speaker's tenses in these cases.:

There is no contradiction here. If the speaker complained of a headache, and we reported this a week later, then She said she has a headache is incorrect. This is indeed a common mistake. In section 275, Swan explains why such sentences are sometimes correct. Context is vital.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousShe told me she had a headache.

I call this a general report. Its validity begins the moment the situation happens which is to be reported and continues forever as time passes.

AnonymousShe told me she has a headache.

I call this an immediate report. Its shelf life can be short or long depending on the situation being reported.

CJ

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