REPORTED
SPEECH
CHANGE
OF TIME AND PLACE REFERENCE
Time/place references are also changed in reported speech
Examples:
"I will see you here
tomorrow",
she said.
She
said that she would see me there
the next day.
The most common of these changes are shown below:
|
Today
|
 |
that
day
|
|
"I saw him today",
she said.
|
|
She said that she had seen
him that day.
|
|
Yesterday
|
 |
the
day before
|
|
"I saw him yesterday",
she said.
|
|
She said that she had seen
him the day
before.
|
|
The
day before yesterday
|
 |
two
days before
|
|
"I met her the
day before yesterday", he said.
|
|
He said that he had met her
two days before.
|
|
Tomorrow
|
 |
the
next/following day
|
|
"I'll see you tomorrow",
he said
|
|
He said that he would see
me the next day.
|
|
The
day after tomorrow
|
 |
in
two days time/ two days later
|
|
"We'll come the
day after tomorrow", they said.
|
|
They said that they would
come in two days time/ two days later.
|
|
Next
week/month/year
|
 |
the
following week/month/year
|
|
"I have an appointment next
week", she said.
|
|
She said that she had an
appointment the following week.
|
|
Last
week/month/year
|
 |
the
previous/week/month/year
|
|
"I was on holiday last
week", he told us.
|
|
He told us that he had been
on holiday the previous week.
|
|
ago
|
 |
before
|
|
"I saw her a
week ago," he said.
|
|
He said he had seen her a
week before.
|
|
this
(for time)
|
 |
that
|
|
"I'm getting a new car this
week", she said.
|
|
She said she was getting
a new car that week.
|
|
this/that
(adjectives)
|
 |
the
|
|
"Do you like this
shirt?" he asked
|
|
He asked if I liked the
shirt.
|
|
here
|
 |
there
|
|
He said, "I live here".
|
|
He told me he lived there.
|
Other changes:
In general, personal pronouns change to the third person singular or
plural, except when the speaker reports his own words:
I/me/my/mine,
you/your/yours
him/his/her/hers
we/us/our/ours, you/your/yours
they/their/theirs:
He said: "I like your new car."
He told her that he liked her new car.
I said: "I'm going
to my friend's house."
I said that I was going to my friend's house.