7.57 When you want to report a habitual past action or a past situation, you can use the semi-modal used to.
I wish I knew what his favourite dishes used to be.
7.58 The use of modals in reported clauses can be compared with the ordinary use of modals (see paragraphs 5.92 to 5.256). Many of the functions are similar, but some are rarely or never found in reported clauses.
reporting conditional statements
7.59 When you are reporting a conditional statement, the tenses of the verbs are, in most cases, the same as they would be normally. However, they are different if you are using the past simple form of a reporting verb, and reporting a conditional statement such as If there is no water in the radiator, the engine will overheat. In this case, you can use the past simple instead of the present simple and would instead of will in the reported conditional statement: She said that if there was no water in the radiator, the engine would overheat.
For information about conditional statements, see paragraphs 8.25 to 8.42.
Making your reference appropriate
7.60 People, things, times, and places can be referred to in different ways, depending on who is speaking or on when or where they are speaking. For example, the same person can be referred to as I, you, or she, and the same place can be referred to as over there or just here.
If you use reported speech to report what someone has said, the words you use to refer to things must be appropriate in relation to yourself, the time when you are speaking, and the place in which you are speaking. The words you use may well be different from the words originally spoken, which were appropriate from the point of view of the speaker at the time.
referring to people and things
7.61 For example, if a man is talking to someone about a woman called Jenny, and he says, I saw her in the High Street, there are several ways in which this statement can be reported. If the original speaker repeats what he said, he could say, I said I saw her in the High Street. I and her do not change, because they still refer to the same people.
If the original listener reports what was said, he or she could say, He said he saw her in the High Street. I becomes he, because the statement is reported from the point of view of a third person, not from the point of view of the original speaker.
If the original listener reports the statement to Jenny, her becomes you: He said he saw you in the High Street.
The original listener might report the statement to the original speaker. This time, I has to change to you: You said you saw her in the High Street.
You’re crazy.
I told him he was crazy.
Possessive determiners and pronouns change in the same way as personal pronouns in order to keep the same reference. So the following sentences could all report the same question: She asked if he was my brother, She asked if you were my brother, I asked if he was her brother. The original question might have been expressed as Is he your brother?
referring to time
7.62 When reporting, you may need to change time adverbials such as today, yesterday, or next week.
For example, if someone called Jill says I will come tomorrow, you could report this statement the following day as Jill said she would come today. At a later time, you could report the same statement as Jill said she would come the next day or Jill said she would come the following day.
We decided to leave the city the next day.
I was afraid people might think I’d been asleep during the previous twenty-four hours.
referring to places
7.63 You may need to change words that relate to position or place.
For example, if you are talking to a man about a restaurant, he might say I go there every day. If you report his statement while you are actually in the restaurant, you could say He said he comes here every day.
Using reporting verbs to perform an action
7.64 Reporting verbs are often used when people explicitly say what function their statement is performing. They do this using I and the present simple of a verb such as admit or promise that refers to something that is done with words. For example, instead of saying I’ll be there you could say I promise I’ll be there, which makes the statement stronger.
I suggest we draw up a document.
I’ll be back at one, I promise.
I was somewhat shocked, I admit, by these events.
The following verbs can be used in this way:
acknowledge
admit
assure
claim
concede
contend
demand
deny
guarantee
maintain
pledge
predict
promise
prophesy
propose
say
submit
suggest
swear
tell
vow
warn
7.65 Some other verbs that refer to doing something with words are used without a that-clause after them. When used without a that-clause, the use of the present simple with I performs the function of a statement in itself, rather than commenting on another statement.
I apologize for any delay.
I congratulate you with all my heart.
I forgive you.
The following verbs are commonly used in this way:
absolve
accept
accuse
advise
agree
apologize
authorize
baptize
challenge
confess
congratulate
consent
declare
dedicate
defy
forbid
forgive
name
nominate
object
order
pronounce
protest
refuse
renounce
resign
second
sentence
7.66 The verbs in the above lists are sometimes called performative verbs or performatives, because they perform the action they refer to.
7.67 Some of these verbs are used with modals when people want to be emphatic, polite, or tentative.
I must apologize for Mayfield.
I would agree with a lot of their points.
She was very thoroughly checked, I can assure you.
May I congratulate you again on your excellent performance.