REPORTED SPEECH

(statements, commands and questions)

SEQUENCE OF TENSES
 FREE WORD ORDER IN
CROATIAN
- Moja majka je kupila bicikl u Pevecu
juer.
S V O P T
- Bicikl je kupila moja majka u Pevecu juer.
- U Pevecu je moja majka kupila bicikl juer.
- Juer je moja majka kupila bicikl u Pevecu.
- Kupila je moja majka bicikl u Pevecu juer.
- U Pevecu je juer kupila bicikl moja majka.
- ...
 FIXED WORD ORDER IN
ENGLISH
My mother bought a bike in Pevec
yesterday.
S V O P T

S V O P T
(in a statement)
 Reported statements
John says:Im a student.
John says (that) hes a student.
John says:I was in Rijeka last week.
John says (that) he was in Rijeka last week.
John says:My parents work very hard.
John says (that) his parents work very hard.
John says:It takes me 2 hours to get home.
John says (that) it takes him 2 hours to get
home.
 Reported commands
John says:Open the window, Mary!
John says to Mary to open the
window.
John says:Children, lets go out!
John invites children to go out.
John says:Mary, go and get my
bag.
John asks Mary to go and get his
bag.
 Reported questions
(watch the word order!)
yes-no questions

John says:Mary, are you still my

friend?
John asks Mary IF SHE IS STILL HIS
FRIEND.
John says:Mother, is the dinner
ready?
John asks mother if the dinner is
ready.
 Wh- questions
John says:Mary, where are my CDs?
John asks Mary WHERE HIS CDs ARE.
(John asks Mary + Question word + Subject + Verb)
John says:Mary, when did you buy this book?
John asks Mary when she bought the book.
John says:Mary, what did you see on TV??
John asks Mary what she saw on TV.
John says:Mary, how much money do you spend on a daily basis?
John asks Mary how much money she spends on a daily basis.
John says:Mary, how did you come here?
John asks Mary how she came here/there.
John says:Mary, who will you be seeing tomorrow?
John asks Mary who she will be seeing tomorrow.
 WH-questions
John says:What is it?
John asks what it is.
John says:Where is my money?
John asks where his money is.
John says:Where does the Sun rise?
John asks where the Sun rises.
John says:When am I supposed to turn in
the paper?
 WH-questions
John asks when he is supposed to
turn in the paper.
John says:Why is everybody so
quiet?
John asks why everybody is so quiet.
John says:Has anybody seen my
USB stick?
John asks if anybody has seen his
USB stick.
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : I wash my car every day .
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: present simple past simple

wash washed
John said (that) he washed his car every day.
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : Im washing my car now .
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: present continuous past

continuous
am/are/is washing was/were washing
John said (that) he was washing his car at the moment
(then).
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : I have just washed my car .
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: present perfect simple past

perfect simple
have/has washed had washed
John said (that) he had just washed his car.
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : I have been washing my car for
hours .
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: present perfect continuous past

perfect continuous
have/has been washing had been washing
John said (that) he had been washing his car for hours.
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : I washed my car yesterday.
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: past simple past perfect simple

(often omitted in colloquial English)
washed had washed
John said (that) he had washed his car the day before (the
previous day).
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : I was washing my car all day
yesterday.
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: past continuous past perfect continuous

was/were washing had been washing
John said (that) he had been washing his car all previous
day.
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : I had already washed my car when
you came home, Mary.
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: past perfect simple past perfect simple

had washed had washed
John said to Mary (that) he had already washed his car
when she...
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : I had been washing my car for hours
when you came, Mary.
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: past perfect continuous past perfect

continuous
had been washing had been washing
John said to Mary (that) he had been washing his car for hours
when she...
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : I will wash my car tomorrow.
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: future simple future in the past

(will would)
will wash would wash
John said that he would wash his car the next day (the
following day).
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : I will be washing my car when you
come home, Mary.
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: (will would)

will be washing would be washing
John said to Mary that he would be washing his car when
she comes home.
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : I will have washed my car by
noon.
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: (will would)

will have washed would have washed
John said that he would have washed his car by noon.
 SEQUENCE OF TENSES
(back-shift)
(main clause) (subbordinate clause)
John said : I will have been washing my car for
2 hours when you come home, Mary.
past tense back-shift
(said,
was saying,
had said)

Reported speech: (will would)

will have been washing would have been washing
John said to Mary that he would have been washing his
car for 2 hours when she...
 Exceptions
Universal truth

The priest said (that) God exists.

The teacher said (that) the Sun rises

in the East.
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses

Present Simple Past Simple

(verb be)
John said:Mary, are you still my friend?
(Present Simple)
John asked Mary if she was still his friend.
if + S + V (Past Simple<Present
Simple)
back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses

Present Simple Past Simple

(verb wash)
John said:Mary, do you wash your car every
day?
(Present Simple)
John asked Mary if she washed her car every
day.
if + S + V (Past Simple<Present Simple)
back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses

Present Continuous Past Continuous

(verb wash)
John said:Mary, are you washing your car now?
(Present Continuous)
John asked Mary if she was washing her car
then.
if + S + V (Past Continuous<Present
Continuous)
back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses

Present Perfect Simple Past Perfect

Simple
(verb wash)
John said:Mary, have you washed your car?
(Present Perfect Simple)
John asked Mary if she had washed her car.
if + S + V (Past Perfect Simple<Present
Perfect Simple)
back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses

Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

(verb wash)
John said:Mary, have you been washing your car for days?
(Present Perfect Continuous)
John asked Mary if she had been washing her car for
days.
if + S + V (Past Perfect Continuous <Present Perfect
Continuous)
back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses

Past Simple Past Perfect Simple

(verb wash)
John said:Mary, did you wash your car
yesterday?
(Past Simple)
John asked Mary if she had washed her car the
day before (the previous day).
if + S + V (Past Perfect Simple <Past Simple)
back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses
Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
(verb wash)
John said:Mary, were you washing your car all
day yesterday?
(Past Simple)
John asked Mary if she had been washing her
car all previous day.
if + S + V (Past Perfect Continuous
<PastContinuous)
back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses
Past Perfect Simple = Past Perfect Simple
(verb wash)
John said:Mary, had you already washed your
car?
(Past Perfect Simple)
John asked Mary if she had already washed
her car
if + S + V (Past Perfect Simple = Past Perfect
Simple)
no back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses
Past Perfect Continuous = Past Perfect
Continuous
(verb wash)
John said:Mary, had you been washing your
car?
(Past Perfect Continuous)
John asked Mary if she had been washing her
car.
if + S + V (Past Perfect Continuous = Past Perfect
Continuous)
no back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses
Future Simple
will wash > would wash
(verb wash)
John said:Mary, will you wash your car tomorrow?

(Future Simple)
John asked Mary if she would wash her car the
following day (next day).
if + S + V (Future in the Past < Future Simple)
would < will
back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses
Future Continuous
will be washing > would be washing
(verb wash)
John said:Mary, will you be washing your car?
(Future Continuous)
John asked Mary if she would be washing her
car.
if + S + V (would be washing< will be washing)

back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses
Future Perfect Simple
will have washed > would have washed
(verb wash)
John said:Mary, will you have washed your car by
noon?
(Future Perfect Simple )
John asked Mary if she would have washed her car
by noon.
if + S + V (would have washed < will have
washed)
back-shift
 Reported questions &
Sequence of tenses
Future Perfect Continuous
will have been washing > would have been washing
(verb wash)
John said:Mary, will you have been washing your car
for 2 hours?
(Future Perfect Simple )
John asked Mary if she would have been washing
her car for 2 hours ...
if + S + V (would have been washing < will have
been washing)
back-shift
 Exercise
1 John said:Mary, where is my key?
John asked Mary where his key was.
2 John said:Mary, what do you do for fun?
John asked Mary what she did for fun.
3 John said:Mary, where are you going?
John asked Mary where she was going.
4 John said:Mary, have you been to
Moscow?
John asked Mary if she had been to Moscow.
 Exercise
5 John said:Mary, what have you been doing for the past 3
hours?
John asked Mary what she had been doing for the past 3 hours.
6 John said:Mary, when did you come home last night?
John asked Mary when she had come home the previous
night.
7 John said:Mary, what were you doing in the street?
John asked Mary what she had been doing in the street.
8 John said:Mary, had you already put the children to bed when
I came home?
John asked Mary if she had already put the children to bed
when he...
 Exercise
9 John said:Mary, how long had you been sleeping when I
came home?
John asked Mary how long she had been sleeping when
he came home.
10 John said:Mary, will you go to the library tomorrow?
John asked Mary if she would go to the library the
following day.
11 John said:Mary, will you be singing when I come
home?
John asked Mary if she would be singing when he
comes home.
 Exercise
12 John said:Mary, will you have left the
hospital by the end of the week?
John asked Mary if she would have left the
hospital by the end of the week.
13 John said:Mary, how long will you have
been driving this car next month?
John asked Mary how long she would have
been driving that car next month.