Reported Speech
When reporting what someone said, tenses usually shift back one step: present simple → past simple; present continuous → past continuous; present perfect → past perfect; past simple → past perfect; will → would; can → could; may → might. If the reported situation is still true, the tense shift is optional in informal English.
When reporting what someone said, tenses usually shift back one step: present simple → past simple; present continuous → past continuous; present perfect → past perfect; past simple → past perfect; will → would; can → could; may → might. If the reported situation is still true, the tense shift is optional in informal English.
Practice
Direct: "I work in finance." → Reported: "She said she ___ in finance."
He told me heto finish the project by Friday.
Report this statement — put in the correct order: Direct: "I have never been to Japan."