Sequence of tenses. Reported Speech
The sequence of tenses is dependence of the tense form in a subordinate clause on the tense form of the predicate in the main clause. There are the following rules of sequence of tenses in English:
1) a present/future tense in the main clause may be followed by any tense in the subordinate clause:
he playsthe piano.
he is playing the piano now.
he has played the piano well.
he has been playing the piano for an hour.
he played the piano.
I know he was playing the piano at that moment.
he had played the piano before taking up singing.
he had been playing the piano for an hour before going to bed.
he will play the piano.
he will be playing the piano this time tomorrow.
he will have played the piano by 3 p.m.
he will have been playing the piano for 2 years next Monday.
2) a past tense in the principal clause is followed by a past tense in the subordinate clause:
he played the piano.
he was playing the piano at that moment.
he had played the piano before taking up singing.
he had been playing the piano for an hour before going to bed.
I knew
he would play the piano.
he would be playing the piano that time the following day.
he would have played the piano by 3 p.m.
he would have been playing the piano for 2 years the following Monday.
If we want to report somebody’s words said in the past, we should also follow the rules of sequence of tenses:
1) change all tenses one step back;
2) change adverbials and demonstrative pronouns:
this – that two days ago – two days before
these – those here – there
now – then/at that time last week – the previous week
today – that day
this week – that week
yesterday – the day before
the day before yesterday – two days before
tomorrow – the following day
the day after tomorrow – two days later
next week – the following/the next week
Task 44. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the verb:
| Present Simple - Past Simple | |
| ‘Julie writes a lot of letters,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie wrote a lot of letters. |
| Present Continuous - Past Continuous | |
| ‘Julie is writing a letter now,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie ….................... a letter then. |
| Present Perfect – Past Perfect | |
| ‘Julie has already written this letter,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie …... already …...... that letter. |
| Present Perfect Continuous – Past Perfect Continuous | |
| ‘Julie has been writing a letter for an hour,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie …............................ for an hour. |
| Past Simple – Past Perfect | |
| ‘Julie wrote a letter three days ago,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie …................ a letter three days before. |
| Past Continuous – Past Perfect Continuous | |
| ‘Julie was writing a letter in the morning yesterday,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie ….................... a letter in the morning the day before. |
| Past Perfect - Past Perfect | |
| ‘Julie had written a letter by 6 p.m.,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie …................ a letter by 6 p.m. |
| Past Perfect Continuous – Past Perfect Continuous | |
| ‘Julie had been writing a letter for an hour before going to bed,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie ….......................... for an hour before going to bed. |
| Future Simple – Future Simple in the past | |
| ‘Julie will write a letter tomorrow,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie would write a letter the following day. |
| Future Continuous – Future Continuous in the past | |
| ‘Julie will be writing a letter till noon tomorrow,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie …............................ till noon the following day. |
| Future Perfect – Future Perfect in the past | |
| ‘Julie will have written a letter by 9 a.m.,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie …........................... by 9 a.m. |
| Future Perfect Continuous – Future Perfect Continuous in the past | |
| ‘Julie will have been writing a letter for two hours by 9 a.m.,’ said Tim. | Tim said that Julie …............................... for two hours by 9 a.m. |
3) when reporting general, alternative and tag-questions use the particle if and the direct word order:
| General question | ‘Does Julie writea lot of letters?’ asked Tim. | Tim asked if Julie wrote a lot of letters. |
| Alternative question | ‘Does Julie writea lot of letters or articles?’ asked Tim. | Tim asked if Julie wrote a lot of letters or articles. |
| Tag-question | ‘Julie writesa lot of letters, doesn’t she?’ asked Tim. | Tim asked if Julie wrote a lot of letters. |
Task 45. Report the following questions:
| 1. ‘Does he live nearby?’ she asked. | She asked if he ……………………… . |
| 2. ‘Are we going to the Clarks tonight?’ asked Paul. | |
| 3. ‘Have you been to Spain or Italy?’ asked Judie. | |
| 4. ‘Has she been studying here for long?’ he asked. | |
| 5. ‘You started school 7 years ago, didn’t you?’ asked my friend. | |
| 6. ‘Were they preparing for the contest yesterday?’ asked the teacher. | |
| 7. ‘Had Bill cleaned the room by the time you came?’ asked my wife. | |
| 8. ‘Were her eyes red? Had she been crying?’ asked mum. | |
| 9. ‘Will you be 23 or 24 next year?’ asked my friend. | |
| 10. ‘You will have graduated from the university by 2010, won’t you?’ asked my grandmother. |
4) when reporting special questions use the special word and the direct word order:
‘What does Julie write?’ asked Tim. - Tim asked what Julie wrote.
‘Who writes a lot of letters?’ asked Tim. - Tim asked who wrote a lot of letters.
Task 46.Report the following questions:
| 1. ‘What do you want?’ he asked. | He asked what……………………… . |
| 2. ‘Where are you staying now?’ asked Helen. | |
| 3. ‘Who has made this cake?’ asked my daughter. | |
| 4. ‘How long have you been learning English?’ asked my teacher. | |
| 5. ‘When did they come?’ asked Larry. | |
| 6. ‘Who were you speaking to lastTuesday?’ asked Scott. | |
| 7. ‘What time had she made her decision by?’ asked the boss. | |
| 8. ‘Who will meet us at the airport?’ Sally wondered. | |
| 9. ‘What will you be doing the whole day tomorrow?’ she asked. | |
| 10. ‘How long will you have been working in this firm by next month?’ asked my colleague. |
5) when reporting orders, requests, advice, invitations, suggestions, promises, permissions etc. use an appropriate reporting verb with an object (if necessary) and add an infinitive, gerund or that-clause:
‘I’ll come in time.’ - He promised to come in time.
‘You should drink more water.’ - She advised me to drink more water.
‘I’m sorry I’m late.’ - She apologized for being late.
‘What a nice car!’ - He exclaimed that it was a nice car.
‘Buy me a toy!’ - The child demanded that his parents should buy him a toy.
| + to-inf. | + smb.+ to-inf. | + ing form | + that-clause | + that + smb/smth.+ should + bare inf. |
| agree claim demand offer promise refuse threaten | advise allow ask beg invite order warn command forbid remind | accuse smb. of apologize for complain to smb. of insist on deny suggest boast about | explain inform smb. exclaim remark | suggest insist demand |
Task 47.Report the following sentences:
| 1. ‘I won’t be late again.’ | He promised not ……………………. . |
| 2. ‘Will you give me a lift to work, please?’ | My friend |
| 3. ‘We will stay here. We won’t go anywhere!’ | They |
| 4. ‘Don’t come close to the fire.’ | Mum |
| 5. ‘Shall we go out for lunch?’ | My boyfriend |
| 6. ‘I’m sorry. I have forgotten your name.’ | She |
| 7. ‘What nice weather!’ | He |
| 8. ‘You should see a doctor.’ | My sister |
| 9. ‘You have broken the vase.’ | Mum |
| 10. ‘Jeff, you can go to the park and have some fun.’ | Dad |
6) change the following modal verbs:
can – could
may – might
shall – should (asking for advice)/ offer (expressing offers)
must – must/had to
‘I can speak Portuguese.’ - He said that he could speak Portuguese.
‘She may come tomorrow.’ - He said that she might come the following day.
‘Shall I call him?’ - He asked if he should call him.
‘Shall I open the window?’ - He offered to open the window.
‘You must finish the work.’ - He said that I must/had to finish the work.
Task 48.Report the following sentences containing modal verbs:
| 1. ‘Shall I come in the morning?’ | The patient |
| 2. ‘I can swim faster than you.’ | My friend |
| 3. ‘How can I lose a couple of kilos?’ | Monica |
| 4. ‘He may ask you a lot of questions.’ | The director |
| 5. ‘You must be in time for the meeting.’ | Mr. Stevenson |
| 6. ‘Shall I help you with your bag?’ | He |
7) do not follow the rules of sequence of tenses if you report a general truth, actual present, when the exact date is mentioned and the order of actions is clear from the context:
The teacher said that Earth goes round the Sun. (a general truth)
Jane, Tim said that the taxi is waiting for us. Hurry up! (actual present)
The teacher said that World War II started in 1939. (order of actions is clear)
Task 49.Correct mistakes if necessary:
1. The teacher said that the Moon went round the Earth.
2. He said that he had finished all the letters.
3. Mr. Morris says that lunch was ready.
4. He said that he wrote the book in 1985.
5. Tom asked where had I been all that time.
6. In the morning Jill’s mother said that she has had a cold for a week already.
7. He said water freezes below 00 C.
8. Ann said that she had watched a film last night.
9. She said that she doesn’t understand the rule. – Well, I’ll explain it again.
10. Mary told me she will come the following day.
Task 50.Turn the following sentences into the direct speech:
| 1. | She asked them where they were going. |
| 2. | Jack promised to come back in time. |
| 3. | They informed us that there would be an inspection in the office the following day. |
| 4. | Liz suggested having a barbeque that night. |
| 5. | Joe asked who was there. |
| 6. | He asked if we liked jazz. |
| 7. | She said she hadn’t been to the theatre for long. |
| 8. | The teacher asked the students to leave their bags in front of the classroom. |
| 9. | He threatened that he would have left by the following Monday. |
| 10. | Sam offered me his help. |
Task 51.Read the report of an interview with Jeffrey Johnson, a singer. Then write the actual words of this interview:
I asked Jeff what sort offilms he liked and he answered that he always liked thrillers. In fact, he said that he even played in a thriller once. I asked him if it had been difficult for him. But I was surprised to hear that it hadn’t. I wondered why he had given up acting. He thought a little and answered that he didn’t see his future in that and added that he had always liked singing. Finally I asked him if he was going to make a new album. He confessed that he had already finished working on the last song of it and that the album would enter the market the following month. I thanked him for the interview and we wished each other good luck.
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Task 52. Translate into English:
| 1. Она сказала, что давно уже так не смеялась. | |
| 2. Он спросил, сколько студентов придет на пробное занятие. | |
| 3. Они попросили посидеть с ребенком еще полчаса. | |
| 4. Он пожаловался на плохое самочувствие и добавил, что у него болит голова уже второй день. | |
| 5. Стивен предложил поехать на пикник в следующее воскресенье. | |
| 6. Дэвид спросил, готова ли Сандра к путешествию. Она ответила, что упаковала вещи еще два дня назад. | |
| 7. Секретарь разрешила мне воспользоваться телефоном. | |
| 8. Она сказала, что всю прошлую неделю работала сверхурочно. | |
| 9. Он сказал, что поможет мне отремонтировать машину. | |
| 10. Продавец спросила, какой размер обуви я ношу. |
III. Passive Voice
The Passive Voice is formed with the verb to be and the Past Participle of the notional verb.
| Present | Past | Future | |
| Simple |  am is + V3 are |  was + V3 were | will be + V3 |
| Continuous | am is being + V3 are |  was being + V3 were | __________ |
| Perfect |  have been + V3 has | had been + V3 | will have been + V3 |
| Perfect Continuous | __________ | __________ | __________ |
The Passive Voice is used:
1) when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant or obvious from the context:
He was arrested a week ago. (The police arrested him.)
This tea is produced in India. (It is not important who produces this tea.)
2) when the action is more important than the doer:
The new factory will be opened next week.
3) when we refer to an unpleasant event and don’t want to mention the person who is guilty:
My dress was spoilt. (instead of ‘You spoilt my dress.’)
Only transitive verbs (verbs that can take objects) can be changed into the passive:
Miriam cleaned her room. – The room was cleaned by Miriam.
Some transitive verbs (bring, tell, send, sing, show, teach, promise, write, read, give, pass, buy, throw, offer, hand, post, take, pay, lend) can make two different passive constructions:
Nick sent him a letter. – He was sent a letter/A letter was sent to him.
Such transitive verbs as have, suit, fit, resemble can’t be used in the passive.