Sequence of tenses

Created by Vít Hradec

Reported speech

SEQUENCE OF TENSES

Reported Speech

Direct speech: "I am hungry."

Reported Speech: He said he was hungry.

Timeshift

I. Present → Past

II. Will  → Would

III. Past/Present perfect  → Past perfect

I. Present

II. Future

III. Past / Present perfect

Past perfect

HAD + past participle

He said he had seen the film twice.

He felt sick in the morning because he had left his jacket at home.

He came to the station too late. When he arrived at the platform his train had left.

Examples

When Mark arrived his parents had had their dinner.

Did they all start eating together?

Did Mark come late?

Did they start eating after Mark’s arrival?

Who started eating first?

Did Mark arrive after or before the dinner?

The building was covered in graffiti, even though they had reconstructed it only very recently.

Did they reconstruct the building to clean the graffiti?

Was the graffiti a part of the reconstruction project?

Was there any graffiti before the reconstruction of the building?

Was the graffiti painted after the reconstruction?

They refused to give me a refund because I had thrown the receipt away.

Did I get the money?

Did I throw the receipt after getting the money back?

Did I have the receipt when asking for a refund?

Did I leave the shop without a refund?

Did I have a receipt before coming back to the shop?

Unfortunately I hadn’t tried the shoes on before I bought them.

Did I buy a wrong size?

Did the shoes fit me before buying them?

Did I buy the shoes even though they didn’t fit?

Was it a good buy?

Didn’t I tried them on in the shop?

Did I feel comfortable in the new shoes?

Were the shoes too small/big for me?

Did I feel satisfied with the buy?

She couldn’t text me because she had cut her finger.

Did she get hurt when typing the message?

Was the finger hurt when she started typing?

When did the accident happen?

Was it too painful for her to text me?

I offered to introduce them but they had met already.

Was it their first meeting?

Was it necessary to introduce them?

Did they meet each other in the past?

in one story

Reporting verbs

say someting (to me)

tell me something (about it)

promise, ask, think, know, report, claim, believe, remember etc.

Specification of time and place

yesterday - the day before

tomorrow - the day after

ago - before, earlier

last week - the week before

next week - the week after

now - then

today - that day

here - there

Practice

Conversations

1. A: “Can I speak to Paul, please?”B: “Paul has gone out. I don’t know when he’ll be back. Do you want to leave a message?”A: “I’ll try later.”

A woman called at lunchtime yesterday and asked ________________________________________.  I told _____________________________________________________ and ____________________. I asked __________________________, but she said ______________________ later. But she never did.

2. A: “Good morning. I have booked a room in the name John Smith.” B: “We have no record of any reservation in your name.”A: “Do you have any rooms free anyway?”B: “We’re sorry, but the hotel is full.”

I went to London recently, but my visit didn’t begin well. I _______________________ a hotel room, but when I got to the hotel they told ________________________________________. When I asked ________________________________ , they said ______________________________________, but _______________________ . There was nothing I could do. I just had to look for somewhere else to stay.  

3.A: “Why are you visiting the country?”B: “We’re on holiday.”A: “How long do you intend to stay? Where will you be staying during your visit?”

After getting off the plane, we had to queue for an hour to get through immigration. Finally it was out turn. The immigration official asked us ____________________________________, and we told _________________________________. Then he wanted to know ______________________ and _________________________________. He seemed satisfied with our answers, checked our passports and wished us a pleasant stay.

4.“I’ll phone you from the airport when I arrive. You don’t need to come to the airport. I’ll take the bus.”

A: “What time is Sue arriving this afternoon?”

B: “About three. She said ________________________________________________.”

A: “Aren’t you going to meet her?”

B: “No, she said ________________________________. She said ___________________________.”

5.Joe: “I’m not hungry. I don’t like bananas, so don’t buy any.”

Joe: “Is there anything to eat?”

Jane: “You just said ___________________________.”

Joe: “Well, I am now. I’d love a banana.”

Jane: “A banana? But you said __________________________. You told _______________________.

6.A: “What’s your job? How much do you earn?”B: “Mind your own business.”

A few days ago a man phoned from a marketing company and started asking me questions. He wanted to know ____________________________ and asked _______________________________. I don’t like people phoning and asking questions like that, so I told ___________________________ and I put the phone down.

Paul: “I’ll be at the restaurant at 7:30. I know where the restaurant is. Louise: “Phone me if there’s any problem.”

Loise and Sarah are in a restaurant waiting for Paul.

Louise: “I wonder where Paul is. He said ________________________________.”

Sarah: “Maybe he’s lost.”

Louise: “I don’t think so. He said _____________________. And I told _________________________.

Translations

1. Řekl mi, že je mu smutno.
2. Řekl, že nesnídal.
3. Slíbil, že to nikomu nepoví.
4. Bylo mi špatně, protože jsem toho moc snědl.
5. Odpověděl jsem, že nevím.
6. Řekl, že už tu hru dohrál dvakrát.
7. Věděli jsme, že vařit neumí.
8. Slíbil, že to opraví.
9. Řekla, že si není jistá.
10. Řekla, že se vrátí. 

1. He said he was sad.
2. He said he hadn’t had his breakfast. 
3. He promised he would tell nobody.
4. I was sick because I had eaten too much.
5. I answered that I didn’t know.
6. He said he had finished the game twice. 
7. We knew he couldn’t cook.
8. He promised he would fix it.
9. She said she wasn’t sure.
10. She said she would come back. 

1. Všichni jsme věděli, že to je Jim, kdo rozbil to auto.
2. Řekli, že nepřijdou, protože nebyli pozváni.
3. Poznamenal, že silnice budou mokré, protože pršelo.
4. Obával se, že s ním nebudeš mluvit, protože nepřišel na poslední schůzku.
5. Řekl, že neví, co řekne jeho žena, až uslyší, jak byl opilý.
6. Řekl, že chce vědět, jestli skutečně věříš, že by mohla udělat takovou chybu.
7. Věděl jsem, že budu perfektně znát časovou souslednost, jestli přeložím všechny tyto příklady. 

1. We all knew it was Jim who had broken the car.
2. They said they wouldn’t come because they hadn’t been invited.
3. He remarked the roads would be wet because it had been raining.
4. He was afraid you wouldn’t speak with him because he hadn’t come to the last meeting.
5. He said he didn’t know what his wife would say when she heard how drunk he had been.
6. She said he wanted to know if you really believed she could make such a mistake.
7. I knew I would know the sequence of tenses perfectly if I translated all these examples.

External sources

Indirect questions

"Excuse me. Can you tell me where the station is?"

He asked me where the station was.

Make indirect questions

1. How are your parents?
2. What did they suggest?
3. Who are they going to invite?
4. Have you ever met anybody famous?
5. Which size do you need?
6. Who is she in love with?
7. When was the lecture?
8. How many people are there in London?
9. How often does he see his parents?
10. What is he talking about?

1. He asked me how my parents were.
2. He asked me what they had suggested.
3. He asked me who they were going to invite.
4. He asked me if I had ever met somebody famous.
5. He asked me which size I needed.
6. He asked me who she was in love with.
7. He asked me when the lecture had been.
8. He asked me how many people there were in London.
9. He asked me how often he saw his parents.
10. He asked me what he was talking about.

Translations

1. Zeptej se ho, kolik to stálo.
2. Můžete mi říct, kde je tu nejbližší bankomat?
3. Zajímalo by mě, jestli už umyl to auto.
4. Nevím, co jsi mu o mě řekl.
5. Nejsem si jist,  kde jsem zaparkoval své auto.
6. Ukaž mi, kde jsi to našel.
7. Nevím, zda ten balík už obdrželi.
8. Nemám ponětí, čí je to pes.
9. Šéf chce vědět, kde jsi byl.
10. Neumíš si představit, jak byla překvapená.

1. Ask him how much it was.
2. Can you tell me where the nearest ATM around here is?
3. I wonder if he has washed the car yet.
4. I don’t know what you told him about me.
5. I am not sure where I parked my car.
6. Show me where you found it.
7. I don’t know whether they have received the parcel.
8. I have no idea whose dog it is.
9. The boss wonders where you have been.
10. You can’t imagine how surprised she was. 

1. Chtěli vědět, kolik to stálo.
2. Zeptal se mě, kde je tu nejbližší bankomat.
3. Nedokázal mi říct, jak obtížná byla ta zkouška.
4. Nebyl si jist,  kde zaparkoval své auto.
5. Ukázal mi, kde to našel.
6. Neuměli vysvělit, jak složitý ten případ je.
7. Neřekli mi, zda ten balík už obdrželi.
8. Neměl jsem ponětí, čí je to pes.
9. Šéf chtěl vědět, kde jsi byl.
10. Neuvědomil jsem si, jak budu nervozní.
11. Neuměl si představit, jak byla překvapená.

External sources

The price was

The price was 80 dollars.

He had seen

He had seen a wonderful bargain. Flight tickets to Dubai.

Last Tuesday

I met Joe.

Now

We are sitting in the classroom

He would

He would take his GF with him.

The price is

The price of the tiskets is 270 dollars today. The special discount is over.

Practice II

• Ask the questions
• Develop a discussion on the given topic
• Share with us what you were talking about

Reported speech conversations.docx

Questionnaire Reported Speech.docx

Practice III

Group I

How is AI already being used in aviation?

How might pilots and air traffic controllers cooperate with AI in the future?

Could AI fully replace human pilots one day?

Is there a different approach to AI in Boeing and Airbus?

Group II

What are the biggest environmental problems caused by flying?

What solutions exist today (electric planes, sustainable fuels)

What should airline do by 2030 to become greener?

Is there a different attitude to environmental issues in Boeing and Airbus?

Group III

What were the causes of famous air accidents in the past?

How has safety improved over the last decades?

What new technologies will make flying even safer?

Group IV

What was air travel like 30 years ago compared to today?

What do passengers expect now from airlines?

How will the passenger experience change in the next 20 years?