Unreal past tense in indirect speech

Rule 1: Unreal past tense after wish, would rather/sooner and it is time do not change:

Direct – The children said, “We wish we didn’t have to take exams.”

Indirect – The children said they wished didn’t have to take exams.

Direct – He said, “I would rather die than take any bribe.”

Indirect – He said that he would rather die than take any bribe.

Direct – John said, “Bill wants to go alone but I’d rather he went with a group.”

Indirect – John said that Bill wanted to go alone but that she’d rather he went with a group.

Direct – He said, “It’s time we began planning our holidays.”

Indirect – He said that it was time began planning their holidays.

Rule 2:  I/he/she/we/they had better remains unchanged, you had better can remain unchanged or be reported by advise + object + infinitive.

Direct –John said, “The children had better go to bed early.”

Indirect – John said that the children had better go to bed early.

Direct – Father said to me, “We shall die today or tomorrow.”

Indirect – Father told me that we shall die today or tomorrow.

Direct – She said, “you’d better not drink the water.”

Indirect – She advised us not to drink the water.

Past perfect continuous tense

This past perfect concept can also be conveyed by the past perfect continuous tense. Study the flowing rule.

Subject + had + been + verb+ing……………….

• John had been living in New York for ten years before he movedto California.

Examples of past perfect:

• The professor had reviewed the material before he gave the quiz.
• After Henry had visited Puerto Rico, he want to St. Thomas.
• Before Ali went to sleep, he had called his family.
• George had worked at the university for forty- five years beforehe retired.

Structure of past continuous tense

Use the following rule to form the past continuous tense.

Subject + (was , were) + verb+ ing …………..

The past continuous tense is used to indicate:

An action which was occurring in the past and was interrupted by another action. In this cash, the general rule is:

When + subject1+ simple past tense + subject 2+ past continuous tense…….

 

Or

Subject1+ past continuous + when+ subject2 + simple past tense……..

• When mark came home, Martha was watching television.

Or

• Martha was watching television when mark camehome.

Two actions occurring at the same time in the past. In this case, the following rules usually apply.

Subject1+ past continuous + while+ subject2 + past continuous…………

Or

While +subject1 + past continuous+ + subject2 + past continuous……….

• Martha was watching television while john was reading book.

Or

• While John was reading a book, Martha was watching television.

Note: The following construction is also possible, but it is not as common as the preceding two.

While+ subject1 + past continuous +  subject2 + simple past…………

While Martha was watching television, John reada book.

An action which was occurring at some specific time in the past.

• Martha was watching television at seven o’clock last night.
• What wereyou doing at one o’clock this afternoon?

Examples of past continuous:

• John was walking to class when he lost his pen.
• The student was reading while the professor was speaking.
• George was watching television when his brother called.
• Henry was eating a snack at midnight last night
• When Mary came home, her husband was cooking dinner.
• Mark was driving on main street when his car brokedown.

Simple past tense

The simple past is used for a completed action that happened at one specific time in the past. The italicized words in the previous sentence are important because they show that simple past is not the same as past continuous or present perfect times.

For example simple past tense:

• John wento Spain last year.
• Bob boughta new bicycle yesterday.
• Maria did her homework last night.
• Mark washedthe dishes after dinner
• We droveto the grocery store this afternoon.
• George cooked dinner for his family Saturday night.