Reported speech backshifts

In reported speech (find more about it here), several elements, like verbs, personal pronouns, some adverbs and even the clause structure, need to be adjusted into the indirect style structure. This is a process called ‘backshifting’, and it takes place because the reporting of the events usually happens at a different time and place from where it originally happened, so verbal tense and adverbs of location must change accordingly.

Backshifting verbs

When the referenced time of the sentence no longer applies to the sentence, then the tense has to change. The following table shows to which tense each backshifts to:

Note: The present tense can be used in a reported sentence that it is still going on or when quoting well-known authors whose works have current validity to the reporting.

• Amanda says that Paul is trying to get us a taxi.
• Aristotle says that one man’s happiness depends on another man being a slave.

Additionally to the verbal tense, some modal verbs also backshift into other forms:

Backshifting personal pronouns

The same way verbs shift, personal pronouns suffer a change when the person speaking and the person addressed are not the same in the situations of the original and reported utterances.

The shift occurs to first and second personal pronouns into the third person when the person in the original utterance is absent in the reported utterance.

• “We will return tomorrow.” / They said that they would return the following day.
•  “I will bring you more food!” / Martha told me she would bring more food.

But if the speaker is reporting his/her own words, then the first personal pronoun stays.

• “I don’t like to eat rice” / I said that I don’t like to eat rice.
• “I saw her enter through the window!” / I told them that I had seen her enter through the window.

When the indirect speech refers to the speaker, the pronouns change accordingly.

• “You are wrong, John.” / Mary said that I was wrong.
•  “Your team is a bunch of amateurs.” / The coach said our team was a bunch of amateurs.

In some occasions, a pronoun or a noun can be added to the reporting to avoid ambiguity or confusion.

• Mike: “He entered through the front door!”, / Mike said the killer entered through the front door. (but not Mike said he entered through the window)

Backshifting demonstratives and adverbs

Demonstratives that reflect near location and time (this, these, here, now) experiment a backshift, as the reporting may not always coincide with the current status of the sentence. They are changed into more remote forms (that, those, there, then):

•  “I’m leaving this week” / She said that she was leaving that week.
• “These are the mugs I brought from Amsterdam” / I told him that those were the mugs I had brought from Amsterdam.
• “The cat usually sleeps here” / Tommy explained that the cat usually slept there.
• “What time is it now?” / Sarah wanted to know the time then.

Other adverbs and time expressions (today, yesterday, last year, next week, in two days...) also suffer from the backshift, so you have to take it into account when passing from direct to indirect speech.

• Lisa: “We are going to Disneyland next week!” / Lisa exclaimed that they were going to Disneyland the following week.
• Luis: “Do you want to go out tomorrow?” / Luis wanted to know if I wanted to go out the next day.
• Katherine: “I was at my house yesterday, so I couldn’t do it.” / Katherine explained that she was at her home the previous day so she couldn’t have done it.
• Elena: “I will finish this book in the next hour.” / Elena informed us that she would finish the book in the following hour.

Backshifting sentence structure

As you may have noticed, when going from direct to reported speech questions and exclamations shift into affirmative form. Therefore, you have to be careful as to NOT use the interrogative word order structure when making a reported speech sentence from an interrogative sentence, as well as not using exclamation signs.

•  “Where are you?” / Sonia asked where were we. ✘
•  “Where are you?” / Sonia asked where we were. ✔

•  “I don’t believe you!” / William exclaimed that he didn’t believe her! ✘
•  “I don’t believe you!” / William exclaimed that he didn’t believe her. ✔