What you'll learn
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to handle tricky tense changes when reporting speech: modals, already-past tenses and time expressions.
When do I use it?
Basic backshift changes "am/is" → "was", "will" → "would", "did" → "had done". The tricky cases:
- Modals that change: "can" → "could", "may" → "might", "must" → "had to": "I can swim" → "He said he could swim."
- Modals that do NOT change: "could", "might", "would", "should" stay the same: "I could help" → "He said he could help."
- Past perfect stays past perfect: "I had seen it" → "He said he had seen it."
- Time expressions shift: "today" → "that day", "now" → "then", "tomorrow" → "the next day", "yesterday" → "the day before".
How do I form it?
backshift the tense; keep could/might/would/should; shift time words
- "I will call tomorrow" → She said she would call the next day.
- "I can't come today" → He said he couldn't come that day.
- "I must leave now" → She said she had to leave then.
- "I had already eaten" → He said he had already eaten.
Common mistakes for Spanish speakers
Spanish backshifts less aggressively, so speakers often report "she said she will come" (keeping will) or "he said he can help" (keeping can). Also, "said that she would have gone" appears where "would go" suffices. And time words get left unshifted: "he said he will come tomorrow" mixes frames — after a past reporting verb, both the verb and the time word must move: "the next day".
Past reporting verb → backshift verbs AND shift today→that day, tomorrow→the next day.
Practice
Multiple Choice
B2Which sentence is correct?
Fill in the Blank
B2She said she come that day.
Hint: 'Can't' backshifts to 'couldn't'.
Find the Error
B2Sentence Transformation
B2Task: Report the sentence (She said...)
Hint: Backshift 'will' → 'would' and shift the time word.
Practice Speaking
Apply what you've learned in a real conversation with AI feedback.
Level: B2