Reported Statements: Tense and Modal Changes
1Công thức
subject + reporting verb (past) + that clause with backshifted tense2Giải thích
Khi động từ tường thuật ở quá khứ, thì của lời nói gốc thường lùi một bậc: hiện tại đơn → quá khứ đơn, hiện tại hoàn thành → quá khứ hoàn thành, will → would, can → could, must → had to. Không cần lùi thì nếu thông tin vẫn đúng hoặc là sự thật chung.
When the reporting verb is in the past, the tense of the original words usually moves one step back: present simple to past simple, present continuous to past continuous, present perfect to past perfect, past simple to past perfect, will to would, can to could, must to had to, may to might.
Dấu hiệu: saidtoldexplained
3Khi nào dùng
- Reporting what someone said earlier
- Reporting thoughts and statements
4Quy tắc cần nhớ
- The past perfect and past perfect continuous stay the same
- Tenses need not change if the information is still true or is a general fact
- Am/is/are going to becomes was/were going to
5Ví dụ
'I live in Hue,' said Mai. → Mai said she lived in Hue.
'We'll arrive late,' they told us. → They told us they would arrive late.
'I've finished the report,' he said. → He said he had finished the report.
6Lỗi thường gặp
- She said she is tired. (when the statement was earlier: she was tired)
- He said he will come. (he would come)
- She told that she was busy. (She told me that she was busy / She said that she was busy)