In order to understand what can change in indirect speech and when, we must bear in mind that any linguistic utteranceSomething that somebody says in a specific context. is made in a specific contextThe situation within which something exists or happens, or an utterance is made., that is, somebody says something somewhere sometime etc. Depending on where, when and by whom this utterance is reported, we might need to change the tenseA grammatical category that is marked by verb inflection. To express when an event or action happens in time or when a state exists, we use tenses.s, the verbA part of speech that expresses an action or a state. E.g.: John seldom plays tennis.s or any other words that refer to time, place or person.

• Tense changes in indirect speech
• Modal changes in indirect speech
• Time and place expression changes in indirect speech
• Conditional and IF-sentences in indirect speech
  • Zero conditional in indirect speech
  • First conditional in indirect speech
  • Second conditional in indirect speech
  • Third conditional in indirect speech
  • WISH, WOULD RATHER, IT'S (HIGH) TIME in indirect speech

Reporting imperatives
Indirect speech Tense changes in indirect speech