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Changing pronouns, time expressions and place references in reported speech.
Reported speech may require changes to pronouns, possessives, time expressions, and place references because the reporter has a different viewpoint from the original speaker.
These changes depend on who is speaking, when the original words were spoken, where the speakers were, and what remains true at the time of reporting.
Personal pronouns may change when direct speech is reported from another person's viewpoint.
For example, She said, "I am tired" becomes She said that she was tired.
First-person pronouns in direct speech usually change according to the identity of the original speaker when the statement is reported.
For example, John said, "I need help" becomes John said that he needed help.
Second-person pronouns may change according to the person who was addressed in the original speech.
For example, She said to me, "You are late" becomes She told me that I was late.
Third-person references generally remain third person unless the reporter's context requires a different reference.
For example, She said, "He is busy" can become She said that he was busy.
Object pronouns may change when the person referred to in direct speech has a different grammatical role in the reported sentence.
For example, "He called me" can become She said that he had called her, depending on who the reporter is.
Possessive determiners may change to reflect the new speaker perspective.
For example, John said, "My car is outside" becomes John said that his car was outside.
Possessive pronouns may also change when the owner referred to in direct speech changes relative to the reporter.
For example, She said, "This book is mine" can become She said that the book was hers.
Reflexive pronouns may need to change when the person referred to by the pronoun changes in reported speech.
For example, John said, "I did it myself" becomes John said that he had done it himself.
This and these may change to that and those when the original speaker is referring to something that is no longer close to the reporter's viewpoint.
For example, "This is my office" can become He said that that was his office.
That and those may remain unchanged when the reference remains appropriate from the reporter's viewpoint.
The choice depends on the physical and discourse context rather than on a mandatory reporting rule.
Here may change to there when the reported speech describes a place from the original speaker's viewpoint that is different from the reporter's location.
For example, "I am happy here" can become She said that she was happy there.
Come and go may change in reported speech when the direction of movement is interpreted from a different speaker or reporter viewpoint.
The choice depends on the location and intended destination relative to the people involved.
Today may change to that day when reporting speech from a later time.
For example, "I will finish it today" can become He said that he would finish it that day.
Yesterday may change to the day before or the previous day when reporting from a later time.
For example, "I saw him yesterday" becomes She said that she had seen him the day before.
Tomorrow may change to the next day or the following day when reporting from a later time.
For example, "I will call you tomorrow" becomes He said that he would call me the next day.
Expressions such as last week can change to the previous week or the week before when the reporting viewpoint shifts.
For example, "I arrived last week" can become She said that she had arrived the previous week.
Next week can change to the following week when reporting from a later viewpoint.
For example, "I will travel next week" can become He said that he would travel the following week.
Ago may be replaced by before or an appropriate expression such as two days earlier when the original time reference is shifted.
For example, "I saw her three days ago" can become He said that he had seen her three days before.
Now may change to then or at that time when reporting speech from a later viewpoint.
For example, "I am busy now" becomes She said that she was busy then.
Time expressions such as this week can change to that week when the reporting perspective has moved into a later period.
For example, "I am working from home this week" can become He said that he was working from home that week.
Then or at that time can represent now from the perspective of an earlier speaker when the report is made later.
The choice depends on whether the temporal reference needs to be made explicit.
A time expression does not need to change if it remains accurate from the reporter's viewpoint.
For example, if a statement is reported on the same day, today may remain today.
A place expression does not need to change when the reported location remains the same from the reporter's viewpoint.
For example, Here can remain here if the reporter is still in the same place being discussed.
Pronoun, time, and place changes are determined by reference and context rather than by a fixed mechanical substitution table.
The correct reported form depends on who said the original words, who is reporting them, when the report is made, and where the relevant people and objects are.
In longer narratives, reported speech may shift references so that the reader can follow the reporter's current viewpoint rather than the original speaker's viewpoint.
This can affect pronouns, demonstratives, time expressions, and references to locations throughout a passage.
Formal reports often replace context-dependent expressions with more explicit time and place references.
For example, yesterday may become the previous day and here may become at the office when precision is important.
Pronoun changes also apply when questions are reported and the grammatical roles of the people involved change.
For example, "Are you going with me?" becomes She asked me whether I was going with her.
Pronoun changes also apply when commands, requests, and advice are reported.
For example, "You must help me" can become He told me that I had to help him.
Change pronouns, time expressions, and place references only when required by the new reporting viewpoint.
Common mistakes include changing pronouns mechanically, changing today or here when they are still accurate, and confusing the original speaker's perspective with the reporter's perspective.