Reported Speech and Conditionnals
When you report/say to someone what you or another person said some time ago you must do some changes in the sentence:
Tenses
Present Simple
>
Past Simple
Present Continuous
>
Past Continuous
Past Simple/Present Perfect Simple
>
Past Perfect
Past Continuous/Present Perfect Continuous
>
Past Perfect continuous
Modals
Will/Shall
>
Would
Can
>
Could
Must
>
Had to
Pronouns and time references logically change too.
If you report a question with an interrogative pronoun, just use the affirmative form instead (where do you... >...where you..., What will she...> ...what she would...)
If you report a "yes" or "no" question, use "if" + affirmative form ( Did you go...> if I went/had been..., Have you finished,,,> ...if I had finished...)
Examples
Conversation
Tom said to Mary
(Direct Speech)
I want to go to Italy with you next weekend
(Reported Speech)
Tom said to Mary (that) he wanted to go to Italy with her the weekend after.
He added
(Direct Speech)
I booked the plane tickets this morning
(Reported Speech)
He added (that) he'd (had) booked the plane tickets that morning.
Tom asked Mary
(Direct Speech)
Do you want to come with me?
(Reported Speech)
He added (that) he'd (had) booked the plane tickets that morning.
Mary asked Tom
(Direct Speech)
Where will we go in Italy?
(Reported Speech)
Mary asked Tom where they would go in Italy.
Requests and Orders
Requests
"...asked (me) to + infinitive"
Please, hold!
>
She asked me to hold.
Could you open the door, please
>
She asked him to open the door.
Would you mind passing me the salt, please
>
He asked her to pass him the salt.
Orders
"...told (me) to + infinitive"
Hold this for me!
>
She told me to hold that for her.
Open the door!
>
She told him to open the door.
Pass me the salt!
>
He told her to pass him the salt
Reported speach explanation in video
Exercises
Zero Conditional
If + Present Simple + Present Simple/Imperative
Don't forget to tell your sister if you see her.
In winter, if it snows I usually go skiing.
1st Conditional
If + Present Simple + Will
If I play, I will lose.
He won't go to the party if you don't come with him.
Will we have to wait a long time if we go to the doctor's ?
2nd Conditional
If + Past Simple + Would
If I played, I would lose.
I would'nt do that if I were you.
Would they come if I invited them ?
3rd Conditional
If + Past Perfect + Would have
If I
had played, I would have lost.
She wouldn't have known if he hadn't told him the news.
Would she have come if you hadn't been there?
Exercises
Other Conditionnals
About now
Subject + wish + subject + past
simple
I wish I won the lottery.
I wish you were here.
He wishes she changed her
mind.
About the past
Subject + wish + subject + past
perfect
I wish I had won the lottery.
I wish you had been here.
He wishes she had changed her
mind.
As a critic/reproach
Subject + wish + subject + would
I wish you would listen to me.
I wish you would behave in
class.
He wishes she would change her ways.
If it rains tomorrow, we won’t go.
We’ll start as soon as/when she comes.
Unless they say otherwise, you’ll follow the rules.
Do it! Otherwise you'll regret it all your life.
