Reported Speech

Lesson 2: Reporting Statements — Tense Backshift

Lesson: 2 of 8 | Level: 🟠 Intermediate

1. Lesson Overview

Tense backshift is the most fundamental and most extensively rule-governed transformation in reported speech. When a statement is reported with a past reporting verb, the tense of the original verb moves back one step — simple present becomes simple past, present perfect becomes past perfect, simple past becomes past perfect, and so on. This systematic backward shift reflects the temporal distance between the moment of original speech and the moment of reporting.

Understanding tense backshift fully — knowing not only which tenses shift to which, but why, and when the shift can legitimately be avoided — is one of the most important skills in advanced English. This lesson examines every tense in the backshift system, presents the complete set of rules governing its application, and identifies the contexts in which backshift is optional or unnecessary. The more specific question of when backshift is not required — including the important cases where the original tense is retained for good reason — is examined in detail in Lesson 6.

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Apply tense backshift correctly across all tenses
• Transform statements from direct to reported speech with full accuracy
• Understand the time and place expression changes that accompany backshift
• Recognise and correct common errors in tense backshift

2. Core Content

A. The Principle of Tense Backshift

When a statement is reported using a past reporting verb — said, told, stated, reported, explained, announced, and so on — the tense of the verb in the reported clause moves back one step in time. This reflects the fact that from the reporter’s perspective, the original speech event is now in the past — further back in time than it was when it was first uttered.

The principle can be understood as a timeline:

Original speech moment → [time passes] → Reporting moment

Each tense shift moves the reported verb one step further back along this timeline:

Present → Past Present perfect → Past perfect Past → Past perfect Present continuous → Past continuous Past continuous → Past perfect continuous Present perfect continuous → Past perfect continuous Will → Would Can → Could May → Might Shall → Should

B. Backshift — Tense by Tense

Simple present → Simple past

For example:

Direct: ‘The deep ocean contains many species that have never been observed.’ Reported: The scientist said that the deep ocean contained many species that had never been observed.

Direct: ‘Hydrothermal vents support ecosystems that depend entirely on chemosynthesis.’ Reported: The researcher explained that hydrothermal vents supported ecosystems that depended entirely on chemosynthesis.

Present continuous → Past continuous

For example:

Direct: ‘Scientists are currently mapping the vent systems of the Indian Ocean.’ Reported: The team leader reported that scientists were currently mapping the vent systems of the Indian Ocean.

Direct: ‘The glacier is retreating at an accelerating rate.’ Reported: The report stated that the glacier was retreating at an accelerating rate.

Simple past → Past perfect

For example:

Direct: ‘We discovered a new species during the last expedition.’ Reported: The team announced that they had discovered a new species during the previous expedition.

Direct: ‘Darwin spent five years on the Beagle.’ Reported: The biographer noted that Darwin had spent five years on the Beagle.

Present perfect → Past perfect

For example:

Direct: ‘Scientists have identified more than five thousand species in vent ecosystems.’ Reported: The researcher stated that scientists had identified more than five thousand species in vent ecosystems.

Direct: ‘The glacier has retreated by more than two kilometres since 1900.’ Reported: The scientist reported that the glacier had retreated by more than two kilometres since 1900.

Past continuous → Past perfect continuous

For example:

Direct: ‘We were collecting samples when the seismic event occurred.’ Reported: The team leader said that they had been collecting samples when the seismic event had occurred.

Direct: ‘The instruments were operating normally before the storm.’ Reported: The technician reported that the instruments had been operating normally before the storm.

Present perfect continuous → Past perfect continuous

For example:

Direct: ‘Scientists have been monitoring this site since 2005.’ Reported: The report noted that scientists had been monitoring that site since 2005.

Direct: ‘We have been working on this analysis for six months.’ Reported: The researcher said that they had been working on that analysis for six months.

Past perfect → Past perfect (no change)

The past perfect does not shift further back — it is already the furthest back tense in English. It remains unchanged in reported speech.

For example:

Direct: ‘By the time the expedition returned, we had collected more than three hundred samples.’ Reported: The team leader said that by the time the expedition had returned, they had collected more than three hundred samples.

Future — will → would

For example:

Direct: ‘The findings will be published next month.’ Reported: The team announced that the findings would be published the following month.

Direct: ‘Scientists will study these ecosystems for decades.’ Reported: The researcher predicted that scientists would study those ecosystems for decades.

Future continuous — will be + -ing → would be + -ing

For example:

Direct: ‘This time next year, we will be conducting the follow-up survey.’ Reported: The team leader said that this time the following year, they would be conducting the follow-up survey.

Future perfect — will have + past participle → would have + past participle

For example:

Direct: ‘By 2050, sea levels will have risen by at least thirty centimetres.’ Reported: The scientist warned that by 2050, sea levels would have risen by at least thirty centimetres.

C. The Complete Backshift Table

D. Changes to Time and Place Expressions

As introduced in the Module Overview, time and place expressions change in reported speech to reflect the new context of reporting. The following table presents the complete set of standard changes.

For example:

Direct: ‘We made this discovery here yesterday.’ Reported: They said that they had made that discovery there the day before.

Direct: ‘We will publish the results next week.’ Reported: They said that they would publish the results the following week.

Note that these changes are not automatic — they apply when the context of reporting is different from the context of the original speech. If the reporting context is the same — if here still means the same place and today still means the same day — then the expressions may remain unchanged.

E. A Fully Worked Example

Consider the following passage of direct speech:

‘I have been working at this research station for three years. Yesterday, my team and I discovered something extraordinary — a previously unknown species living at depths of more than 6,000 metres. We are currently analysing the data, and we will publish our findings here at the conference next week.’

The full reported speech version:

Professor Chen said that she had been working at that research station for three years. She said that the previous day, her team and she had discovered something extraordinary — a previously unknown species living at depths of more than 6,000 metres. She added that they were currently analysing the data and that they would publish their findings there at the conference the following week.

All four changes are applied simultaneously — tense backshift (have been working → had been working; discovered → had discovered; are analysing → were analysing; will publish → would publish); pronoun change (I → she; my → her; we → they); and time/place change (yesterday → the previous day; here → there; next week → the following week).

3. Usage in Context

• Simple present in direct speech becomes simple past in reported speech when the reporting verb is in the past tense.

Direct: ‘The Amazon basin contains approximately 10 per cent of all species on Earth.’ Reported: The ecologist stated that the Amazon basin contained approximately 10 per cent of all species on Earth.

• Present continuous becomes past continuous in reported speech.

Direct: ‘Temperatures are rising at an accelerating rate across all ocean basins.’ Reported: The scientist warned that temperatures were rising at an accelerating rate across all ocean basins.

• Simple past becomes past perfect in reported speech — this is one of the most commonly confused shifts.

Direct: ‘We discovered a new species during the last expedition.’ Reported: The team announced that they had discovered a new species during the previous expedition.

• Present perfect becomes past perfect in reported speech.

Direct: ‘Scientists have identified more than five thousand species in vent ecosystems since 1977.’ Reported: The researcher noted that scientists had identified more than five thousand species in vent ecosystems since 1977.

• Past continuous becomes past perfect continuous in reported speech.

Direct: ‘The team was collecting samples when the earthquake struck.’ Reported: The expedition leader reported that the team had been collecting samples when the earthquake had struck.

• Present perfect continuous becomes past perfect continuous in reported speech.

Direct: ‘We have been monitoring the site continuously since 2005.’ Reported: The scientist said that they had been monitoring the site continuously since 2005.

• Past perfect does not change further in reported speech — it is already the furthest back tense.

Direct: ‘By the time we arrived, the storm had already destroyed the equipment.’ Reported: The team leader said that by the time they had arrived, the storm had already destroyed the equipment.

• Will becomes would in reported speech.

Direct: ‘Global temperatures will continue to rise unless emissions are significantly reduced.’ Reported: The climate scientist warned that global temperatures would continue to rise unless emissions were significantly reduced.

• Will be + -ing becomes would be + -ing in reported speech.

Direct: ‘This time next year, the team will be conducting the follow-up survey.’ Reported: The team leader said that this time the following year, they would be conducting the follow-up survey.

• Will have + past participle becomes would have + past participle in reported speech.

Direct: ‘By 2050, sea levels will have risen by at least thirty centimetres.’ Reported: The scientist predicted that by 2050, sea levels would have risen by at least thirty centimetres.

• Time expressions change to reflect the new reporting context — today becomes that day, yesterday becomes the day before, tomorrow becomes the following day, here becomes there.

Direct: ‘We will present our findings here tomorrow.’ Reported: The team said that they would present their findings there the following day.

• Ago becomes before or previously in reported speech.

Direct: ‘The species was first observed three years ago.’ Reported: The researcher noted that the species had first been observed three years before.

• This becomes that and these becomes those in reported speech — reflecting the greater distance of the reporting context.

Direct: ‘This discovery will change everything.’ Reported: The scientist declared that that discovery would change everything.

• When the reporting verb is in the present tense, backshift does not apply — the original tense is maintained.

The study argues that deep-sea ecosystems are more biodiverse than previously believed. (present reporting verb — no backshift) Darwin states in his journal that the variety of species on the islands is remarkable. (present reporting verb — no backshift)

• When reporting general truths and permanent facts, backshift is optional — the original simple present may be retained even with a past reporting verb.

The scientist explained that water freezes at zero degrees Celsius. (backshift not applied — permanent fact) The scientist explained that water froze at zero degrees Celsius. (backshift applied — also acceptable)

• In formal academic writing, that is retained after the reporting verb — in informal contexts it can be omitted.

The researcher stated that the findings were consistent with the hypothesis. (formal — that retained) The researcher stated the findings were consistent with the hypothesis. (informal — that omitted)

• The negative forms of verbs backshift in the same way as the affirmative forms.

Direct: ‘Scientists do not fully understand this process.’ Reported: The researcher admitted that scientists did not fully understand that process.

• In reported speech, the subject and verb of the reported clause maintain standard word order — there is no inversion.

Direct: ‘The expedition was a success.’ Reported: The team leader said that the expedition had been a success. (standard order — not was the expedition a success)

• All four changes — tense, modal, pronoun, and time/place — apply simultaneously in a fully transformed reported speech passage.

Direct: ‘I am presenting my findings here today — they will surprise everyone.’ Reported: She said that she was presenting her findings there that day and that they would surprise everyone.

4. Common Errors and Corrections

5. Lesson Mastery

After completing this lesson, you should now be able to:

    ✅ Apply tense backshift correctly across all tenses

    ✅ Transform statements from direct to reported speech with full accuracy

    ✅ Understand the time and place expression changes that accompany backshift

    ✅ Recognise and correct common errors in tense backshift