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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

The verb 'to be' in reported speech.

Could you help me with this problem? 

If I have such a direct statement 'I was in the bar at 7 o'clock'. Which is the best way to report, and what's the difference between:

1. He said he had been in the bar at 7 o'clock.

2. He said he was in the bar at 7 o'clock.  ?

and 'I was watching TV at that moment'

1. He said he was watching TV at that moment.

2. He said he had been watching TV at that moment.
  

Top answer

was; was watching No tense change in this case. BUT: I went to the mountains yesterday ~ He said he had gone to the mountains the day before. I will go with you tomorrow ~ He said he would go with me tomorrow.

— Philip

  • was; was watching No tense change in this case.
  • BUT: I went to the mountains yesterday ~ He said he had gone to the mountains the day before.
  • I will go with you tomorrow ~ He said he would go with me tomorrow.
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3 Answers
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was; was watching

No tense change in this case. BUT:

I went to the mountains yesterday ~ He said he had gone to the mountains the day before.

I will go with you tomorrow ~ He said he would go with me tomorrow.
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Anonymous'I was in the bar at 7 o'clock'. Which is the best way to report
He said he was in the bar ....
In isolation there is no context to provide any reason to use the past perfect, even though it is, technically, the backshift of the simple past. Perhaps in reporting a more extended narrative that included both present and past tenses to report, you
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Hi,
Is it OK to leave the tense as it is since the action hasn't been fulfilled and is yet to be fulfilled? Can I say "He said he will go with you tomorrow." Something like " He said we will get raises starting next month."

You wrote:

I will go with you tomorrow ~ He said he would go with me tomorrow.
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