Veränderung der Zeitformen
Wenn das Verb des einleitenden Satzes in der Vergangenheit steht, ändert sich auch in der indirekten Rede die Zeitfolge (change of tenses). Das Verb der direkten Rede wird nach einem festgelegten Schema in die Vergangenheit gesetzt (backshift of time).
| tense | direct speech | reported speech |
| present tense \(\rightarrow\) past tense | Fred: "I don't feel very well." | Fred said (that) he didn't feel very well. |
| present perfect \(\rightarrow\) past perfect | Suzanne: "I haven't been to a club for ages." | Suzanne mentioned (that) she hadn't been to a club for ages. |
| past tense \(\rightarrow\) past perfect | Graham: "I didn't go last Saturday." | Graham said (that) he hadn't gone the previous Saturday. |
| going-to-future \(\rightarrow\) was/were going to + infinitive | Tom: "I'm going to do my homework later." | Tom said that he was going to do his homework later. |
| will-future \(\rightarrow\) would + infinitive | Claire: I'll do it straight away." | Claire answered that she would do it straight away. |
Ausnahmen
Steht in der direkten Rede die Zeitform past perfect, so kann diese nicht mehr in die Vergangenheit „zurückverschoben“ werden, sondern bleibt bestehen.
Beispiel: Andrew pointed out: “We hadn’t cleaned up the mess when my parents arrived.” / Andrew pointed out (that) they hadn’t cleaned up the mess when his parents arrived.
Genauso kann bei einer allgemeingültigen Aussage oder bei einer Aussage, die zum Zeitpunkt der Wiedergabe noch zutrifft, die Zeitform der direkten Rede unverändert bleiben. Ein backshift of time wäre jedoch auch nicht falsch.
Beispiele:
- Tom complained: “I hate school.” / Tom complained (that) he hates school. (Tom sighed that he hated school.)
- Ann said: “In spring the sea is still too cold to go for a swim.” / Ann said (that) in spring the sea is still too cold to go for a swim. (Ann said that in spring the sea was still too cold to go for a swim.)