There is a grammatical phenomenon in the English language known as succession, or tense agreement. If in the main part of the sentence the predicate is put in the past tense (mainly in Past Indefinite), this will entail a change in the verb forms of the subordinate clause. Most often, such a shift occurs when it is necessary to convert direct speech into indirect speech.
Coordination of times: table and rules
In cases where the main part of a complex sentence contains a predicate in the present or future tense, the verb in the subordinate part is not limited by any rules and can be in any required tense form. However, if in the main sentence the verb acting as a predicate is placed in one of the past tenses, the second part requires changes according to a certain system. There is no such phenomenon in Russian. This is one of the many grammatical features that English has (coordination of tenses). The table will help you see the difference.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech | ||
| Group Times Present(real) | |||
|
Present Indefinite (Simple) |
Angela said: "I work on it". Angela said "I'm working on it". (always, regularly or occasionally, from time to time) |
Past Indefinite (Simple) |
Anglela said that she worked on it. Angela said she was working on it. |
|
Present Progressive (Continuous) |
Cecilia told us: "I am working at this moment". Cecilia told us "I'm working at the moment". |
Past Continuous(Progressive) |
Cecilia told us that she was working at that moment. Cecilia told us she was busy (working) at the time. |
| Present Perfect |
We thought: "Mary have worked excellent today". We thought Mary did a great job today. (and now the result is visible) |
Past Perfect |
We thought that Mary had worked excellent that day. We thought Mary did a great job that day. |
| Present Perfect Continuous |
Camilla complain: I have been working for five hours together. Camille complains: "I work five hours straight". |
Past Perfect Continuous |
Camilla complained that she had been working for five hours together. Camilla complained about working five hours straight. |
| Past tenses | |||
| Past Indefinite(Simple) |
Clara worked at home. Clara worked from home. |
Past Perfect |
We found out that Clara had worked at home. We learned that Clara worked from home. |
| Past Continuous(Progressive) |
He know: "Daria was working here yesterday". She knows "Daria worked here yesterday". |
Past Perfect Continuous |
He knew that Daria had been working there the previous day. He knew Daria had worked there the day before. |
| Past Perfect |
Maria said: "I had worked good". Maria said "I did a good job". |
Past Perfect |
Maria was sure that she had worked good. Maria was sure she was doing a good job. |
| Past Perfect Continuous |
Diana told us:" I had been working on that project for two years". Diana told us, "I've been working on this project for two years." |
Past Perfect Continuous |
It became known that she had been working on that project for two years. It has been revealed that Diana has been working on (this) that project for two years. |
| Teens group Future (future) | |||
| FutureIndefinite |
Ben said: "I'll work on it" Ben said "I'll work on it". |
Future in the Past (Simple) |
Ben promised that he would work on that. Ben promised he would work on it. |
| Future Continuous |
They said to me: "She will be working". I was told "She will work". |
Continuous Futurein the Past |
I was told that probably she would be working. I was told it would most likely work. |
| Future Perfect |
She thought: "I'll have translated the book by Sunday". She thought "I'll have the book translated by Sunday". |
Perfect Futurein the Past |
She thought that she would have translated the book by Sunday. She thought she would have translated the book by Sunday. |
| Future Perfect Continuous |
By tomorrow John will have been reading and translating these books for two months. Tomorrow it will be two months since John has been reading and translating these books. |
Perfect Continuous Future in the Past |
We knew that by tomorrow John would have been reading and translating those books for two months. We knew it would be two months tomorrow that John has been reading and translating these (those) books. |
Adverbs and pronouns
When changes are associated with the transition to indirect speech, transformations occur not only in grammatical forms, but also in some accompanying words: adverbs of time and pronouns.
She told us: "Yesterday I bought this turquoise dress". - She told us, "I bought this turquoise dress yesterday."
She told us that she had bought that turquoise dress the day before. - She told us that she bought this turquoise dress the day before.
Modal verbs
There are some peculiarities in the use of modal verbs. When moving to another temporary group, some changes are sometimes made.
Modal verbs change according to the following system.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| shall, will | would |
| can | could |
| may | might |
| must | must (if it's speculation or logical reasoning) |
| must | had to (if the obligation is due to external circumstances) |
| shall | should (if it's advice) |
He said: "I can fly the aircraft". - He said thathe could fly the aircraft. He said, "I can fly the aircraft." - He said he could fly a plane.
However, there are a number of verbs that do not change: should, mustn't, would, had better, could, might, ought to, etc.
Exceptions
Coordination of times does not apply to all cases. There are a number of exceptions:
1. If the subordinate clause refers to some scientific law or well-known fact that remains relevant regardless of the influence or opinion of people, then the timing is excluded.
2. When using the subjunctive in the subordinate clause, the verb does not change into another tense.
Such a grammatical phenomenon as the agreement of tenses is absent in the Russian language. To master this material, you need not only to understand the rules well, but also to practiceself-composing sentences and dialogues using this topic. One of the best ways is to retell the dialogue in your own words.
