Reported Speech Questions Medium
When reporting conditional sentences in indirect speech, there are several rules to follow.
1. If the reported statement is in the present simple tense, the conditional sentence remains unchanged in the reported speech. For example, "He said, 'If it rains, I will stay at home.'" becomes "He said that if it rained, he would stay at home."
2. If the reported statement is in the past simple tense, the conditional sentence undergoes a tense shift. The present simple tense in the conditional sentence changes to the past simple tense, and the future tense changes to the conditional tense. For example, "She said, 'If I won the lottery, I would buy a new car.'" becomes "She said that if she had won the lottery, she would have bought a new car."
3. If the reported statement is in the present continuous tense, the conditional sentence also undergoes a tense shift. The present continuous tense changes to the past continuous tense, and the future continuous tense changes to the conditional continuous tense. For example, "They said, 'If we are studying, we will not go to the party.'" becomes "They said that if they were studying, they would not go to the party."
4. If the reported statement is in the present perfect tense, the conditional sentence changes to the past perfect tense. For example, "He said, 'If she has finished her work, she will go home.'" becomes "He said that if she had finished her work, she would go home."
5. If the reported statement is in the past perfect tense, the conditional sentence also changes to the past perfect tense. For example, "She said, 'If he had called me, I would have answered.'" becomes "She said that if he had called her, she would have answered."
These are the general rules for reporting conditional sentences when using reported speech in indirect speech. It is important to pay attention to the tense changes and make the necessary adjustments to accurately convey the original meaning.