These questions ask whether the report still shares the original speaker's current viewpoint. Before changing any verb, decide when the reporting happens and whether the information is presented as current, simultaneous, still true or still future.
Check the reporting time before shifting anything
Begin with the reporting phrase, not the quoted verb. Says, is saying and has said all give a present viewpoint, so there is no past trigger: preserve the original tense and meaning. If the reporting verb is past, ask a second question: does the sentence explicitly tell you that the fact or state continues now? If it does, keeping the present and using the corresponding past are both standard British English.
| Signal in the report | Form to preserve |
|---|---|
| A present reporting verb introduces a current fact, state or timetable | Keep the present simple. |
| An ongoing present reporting phrase introduces a simultaneous activity | Keep the present continuous. |
| A present-perfect reporting phrase introduces a current-result update | Keep the present perfect. |
| A present report describes an event that is still in the future | Keep will plus the base form. |
| A past reporting verb introduces a fact explicitly stated to remain true | Either retain the original present or use the corresponding past. Do not treat one of these standard viewpoints as universally required. |
Keep tense and meaning as separate checks. A form may look more remote but also change a live fact into a past fact, an activity into a completed event, or a firm future statement into a future viewed from the past. Make that change only when the reporting viewpoint licenses it.
Where the mistakes come from
| Trap | How to reject it |
|---|---|
| Every instance of reported speech is treated as a command to shift backwards | Backshift needs a past reporting viewpoint. A present reporting phrase keeps the report anchored in the present. |
| After says, is saying or has said, a past form is chosen merely because it sounds more indirect | With a present reporting verb there is no past trigger, so the original tense stays. Remoteness is not the reason to shift; only a past reporting viewpoint is. |
| Would is used for a current fact, state or continuing activity | Would introduces a future-in-the-past, conditional or habitual reading. It does not preserve an ordinary present meaning. |
| The time viewpoint is preserved but the aspect is changed | An ongoing activity still needs a continuous form, and a completed update with a current result still needs the present perfect. Do not replace either with a different event shape. |
| Only one tense is allowed after a past report of something that remains true | A continuing timetable, geographical fact or residence can be viewed either as true now or from the earlier reporting moment. That is why both the retained present and the corresponding past are standard. |
| Had or would is followed by a finite past or present form, or the clause has only an -ing form | Had needs a past participle, a modal needs a bare base form, and a complete reported clause needs a finite verb. |
Try it
Direct during the live field call: "I am carrying the soil sample." The biologist says that she ___.
Direct current update: "I have renewed the theatre licence." The director has said that she ___.
Direct announcement before Monday: "I will reopen the clinic on Monday." Dr Shah says that she ___.