Direct And Indirect Speech - 3

As a rule, the simple past in the Direct becomes the past perfect in the Indirect.
Direct: He said, “The horse died in the night.”
Indirect: He said that the horse had died in the night.
If the reporting verb is in the Present Tense, the tenses of the Direct Speech do not
change. For example, we may rewrite the above examples, putting the reporting verb in
the Present Tense, thus:
• He says he is unwell.
• He has just said his master is writing letters.
• He says he has passed the examination.
• He says the horse died in the night.
The pronouns of the Direct Speech are changed, where necessary, so that their relations
with the reporter and his hearer, rather than with the original speaker, are indicated. To be
a little clearer, the change of pronouns can be explained like this. The pronouns of the
first person are changed to the pronouns of the same person as the subject of the reporting
verb.
She said, “I am busy” (Direct)
She said that she was busy (Indirect)
I said, “I am busy” (Direct)
I said that I was busy (Indirect)
You said, “I am busy” (Direct)
You said that you were busy (Indirect)
He said, “I am busy” (Direct)
He said that he was busy (Indirect)
They said, “We are busy” (Direct)They said that they were busy (Indirect)
We said, “We are busy” (Direct)
We said that we were busy (Indirect)