How do you report statements with past tenses when reporting reported speech in indirect speech?

How do you report statements with past tenses when reporting reported speech in indirect speech?

When reporting reported speech in indirect speech, statements with past tenses are reported by changing the tense of the verb in the reported speech according to the rules of sequence of tenses.

If the reported speech is in the past simple tense, it is usually changed to the past perfect tense in indirect speech. For example, if the original statement was "I saw him yesterday," it would be reported as "He said that he had seen him the day before."

Similarly, if the reported speech is in the past continuous tense, it is changed to the past perfect continuous tense in indirect speech. For instance, if the original statement was "She was studying all night," it would be reported as "He said that she had been studying all night."

In cases where the reported speech is in the past perfect tense, it remains unchanged in indirect speech. For example, if the original statement was "They had already left," it would be reported as "He said that they had already left."

It is important to note that when reporting statements with past tenses in indirect speech, the reporting verb is also usually changed to a past tense, such as "said" or "told." Additionally, other changes may be required, such as pronoun changes and changes in time and place expressions, to maintain the accuracy and coherence of the reported speech.