Direct and Indirect Speech - Reporting Verb in Past Tense

If the Reporting Verb is in the Past Tense, the tense of the Reported Speech is changed as follows :

Direct Speech                                      Indirect Speech is/are/am                                              was/were has/have                                               had Present Indefinite Tense                      Past Indefinite Tense Present Continuous Tense                   Past Continuous Tense Present Perfect Tense                          Past Perfect Continuous Tense Present Perfect Continuous Tense       Past Perfect Continuous Tense Past Indefinite Tense                            Past Perfect Tense Past Continuous Tense                         Past Perfect Continuous Tense Past Perfect                                           No change Past Perfect Continuous Tense             No change will/shall                                               would/should as per the new Subject can                                                        could may                                                       might

Change in Words Showing Distance, Time or Position

The following words are changed as below :

Direct Speech  Indirect Speech

ago       before

here     there

just       then

now     then

the next week/day        the following week/day

this/these          that/those

thus      so

tomorrow         the next day/the following day

last night          the previous night

today   that day

tonight that night

yesterday         the previous day

Examples :

Direct : The little boy said to his friend, "I am your friend."

Indirect : The little boy told his friend that he was his friend."

Direct : The guide said, “These trees swing in the wind.”

Indirect : The guide said that those trees swung in the wind.

Direct : The teacher said to the student, “We are going to hold a cultural programme in the school.”

Indirect : The teacher told the student that they were going to hold a cultural programme in the school.

Direct : Vibha said to Priya, “The race has begun now.”

Indirect : Vibha told Priya that the race had begun then.

Direct : He said to me, “I have been begging your favour since yesterday.”

Indirect : He told me that he had been begging my favour since the previous day.

Direct : The customer said to the shopkeeper, "I bought this type of necktie ago."

Indirect : The customer told the shopkeeper that he had bought that type of necktie before.

Direct : You said to us, “You were not helping us now.”

Indirect : You told us that we had not been helping you then.

Direct : The ant said to the elephant, “Your massive had hurt us badly.”

Indirect : The ant told the elephant that his massive feet had hurt them badly.

Direct : Tarak said to Mohini, "The water will flow in this canal soon."

Indirect : Tarak told Mohini that the water would flow in that canal soon.

Direct : You said to her, "You may take my umbrella if it rains tomorrow."

Indirect : You told her that she might take your umbrella if it rained the following day.

Direct : The teacher said to the little boy, "An aeroplane can fly like a bird."

Indirect : The teacher told the little boy that an aeroplane could fly like a bird.