Reported statements

Reported speech is typically introduced by verbs such as tell, say, explain, reply, think, hope and so forth, in the past tense. - He said (that) he didn't want to do a barrel roll. - They explained that they had worked on perfecting that technique. If these verbs are in the past tense, we have to change the following: a) verb tenses and verb forms, b) pronouns, c) the adverbs of time and place.

Present tense changes to past tense:"I always loved you," she told me. - She told me (that) she always loved me.

Present perfect changes to past perfect:"I have broken the contract," he admitted. - He admitted that he had broken the contract

Will changes into the conditional:"I will come on the helipad," he reminded me. - He reminded me that he would come on the helipad.

Past changes to past perfect:"He was thinking of selling a old ship," she said. - She said (that) he had been thinking of selling a old ship.

Let's suppose that we talked to our friend Rebecca on Friday. And she said: "good guy Greg came yesterday." It means that good guy Greg came on Thursday. If we report Rebecca's sentence on Sunday, we have to do the following: Rebecca: "Greg came yesterday." - Rebecca said that good guy Greg had come the day before. If we say: Rebecca said Greg had come yesterday, it is not correct, because it means that he came on Saturday.The time expressions change as follows. today - that day, tomorrow - the next day/the following day, the day after tomorrow - in two days' time, yesterday - the day before, the day before yesterday - two days before, next week/month - the following week/month, last week/month - the previous week/month, a year ago - a year before/the previous year

We have to change the pronouns in order to preserve the same meaning of a sentence. "We are the best of the best," he said. - He said they were the best of the best. "They called us," he said. - He said they had called them. "I like your Aston Martin," she said. - She said (that) she liked my Aston Martin. "I can lend you my nuclear bomb," he said. - He said he could lend me his nuclear bomb.

Sometimes it is best to use a noun instead of a pronoun, as the new sentence might sound somewhat confusing if that isn’t done. "He killed them," the murderer said. - The murderer said that the man had killed them.If we only make mechanical changes (the murderer said he had killed them), the new sentence can have a different meaning - The murderer himself killed them. (which he did , but he’s trying to blame the other person)