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Aspects
The aspect of a verbA part of speech that expresses an action or a state. E.g.: John seldom plays tennis. does not mark when an actionA general term expressing that somebody or something does something takes place in timeA concept which is related to our perception of reality; that part of existence which is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc. but it shows us the relationship between the action and the passage of time. It expresses durationA concept, related to the continuous aspect, expressing that an action is in progress. E.g.: What are you doing? or completionA concept, related to the perfect aspect, expressing that an action has finished. E.g.: He’s finished university..
There are two aspects in English: continuousThe aspect expressing duration, formed with be + verb-ing. E.g.: What are you doing? (also called progressAn action is in progress when it is happening. E.g.: When I arrived he was surfing. ("he was surfing")ive) and perfectThe aspect expressing completion. E.g.: He’s finished university.. The former is related to duration, while the latter to completion.
Changes in indirect speech
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.
First conditional in indirect speech
When reporting a first conditional, the following 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. changes may be applied.
HAVE + something + past participle
This is probably the most common causative structureThe way in which the parts of a sentence, clause or expression are arranged. E.g.: make somebody + infinitive in "The teacher made me rewrite the composition.", which stresses the objectA person or thing that is affected by the action of a verb or involved in the result of an action. of the actionA general term expressing that somebody or something does something, rather than its agentThe doer of an action; the person or the thing that does something. E.g.: True Romance was written by Tarantino. ("Tarantino").
We are having the house redecorated.
It can also be used to express accidents or misfortunes happening to someone.
Less likely conditions in third conditional
Should and were to can also be used in the if-clauseA group of related words containing a subject and a verb. of third conditional sentences. To express that the sentence refers to past, however, a perfectThe aspect expressing completion. E.g.: He’s finished university. infinitive is used after them. Note that this usage (like the situation it expresses) is not very common.
Mixed conditional: general condition with an unreal result in the past
In this type of mixed conditional the if-clauseA group of related words containing a subject and a verb. is in the second, while the main clauseA clause that could be a sentence in itself. E.g.: I wouldn’t go there if I were you. ("I wouldn't go there") When I arrived he was surfing. ("he was surfing") is in the third conditional.
If Mr Douglas had a moustache, Ms Zeta Jones would probably not have married him.
If I were smarter, I would have been able to answer.
Compare:
Modal changes in indirect speech
Similarly to 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. changes, if the reported sentence is still true at the timeA concept which is related to our perception of reality; that part of existence which is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc. of reporting, no changes are made. If, however, the reported sentence is out of date, the following changes occur.
Modals expressing past certainty / uncertainty
To express past certainty, the same auxiliariesA helping verb used with main verbs to express mood, voice and tense. E.g.: I can't stand when I am disturbed. ("can", "am") are used as in the case of present and future certainty. However, the infinitives that follow are perfectThe aspect expressing completion. E.g.: He’s finished university. infinitives.
Modals expressing past permission / prohibition
To express past permission and prohibition could and was/were allowed to are used.
We were not allowed to smoke in the restaurant.
We could not apply for a visa because of my parents' past.
NEEDED TO and NEED + perfect infinitive
The past form of need to is needed to, while need as an auxiliaryA helping verb used with main verbs to express mood, voice and tense. E.g.: I can't stand when I am disturbed. ("can", "am") is used with perfectThe aspect expressing completion. E.g.: He’s finished university. infinitives only in negativeA declarative sentence indicating "no". E.g.: Tim has no friends. sentences to refer to past timeA concept which is related to our perception of reality; that part of existence which is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc.. Note the difference between didn't need to and needn't +perfect infinitive: