In the English language, there is a grammatical phenomenon known as sequence, or agreement of tenses. If the predicate is placed in the past tense in the main part of the sentence (mainly in Past Indefinite), this will entail a change in the verb forms of the subordinate clause. Most often, such a shift occurs when it is necessary to convert direct speech into indirect.
Harmonization of times: table and rules
In those cases where the predicate in the present or future tense is in the main part of the complex sentence , the verb in the subordinate part is not limited to any rules and may appear in any required temporal form. However, if in the main sentence the verb acting as a predicate is put in one of the past tenses, the second part requires changes in a certain system. In Russian, such a phenomenon does not exist. This is one of the many grammatical features that English has (the coordination of tenses). The table will help to see the difference.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| Present Group Times |
Present indefinite (Simple) | Angela said: "I work on it". Angela said: "I'm working on it." (constantly, regularly or occasionally, from time to time) | Past indefinite (Simple) | Anglela said that she worked on it. Angela said she was working on it. |
Present progressive (Continuous) | Cecilia told us: "I am working at this moment". Cecilia told us: "I am working at the moment." | Past continuous
(Progressive) | Cecilia told us that she was working at that moment. Cecilia told us that she was busy (working) at that moment. |
| Present perfect | We thought: "Mary have worked excellent today." We thought, "Mary did a great job today." (and now the result is visible) | Past perfect | We thought that Mary had worked excellent that day. We thought Mary did a great job that day. |
Present Perfect Continuous | Camilla complain: "I have been working for five hours together. Camilla complains: "I work five hours in a row." | Past perfect continuous | Camilla complained that she had been working for five hours together. Camilla complained that she worked five hours in a row. |
| Times of the Past group (past) |
Past indefinite
(Simple) | Clara worked at home. Clara worked at home. | Past perfect | We found out that Clara had worked at home. We learned that Clara worked at home. |
Past continuous
(Progressive) | He know: "Daria was working here yesterday". She knows: "Daria worked here yesterday." | Past perfect continuous | He knew that Daria had been working there the previous day. He knew that Daria worked there the day before. |
| Past perfect | Maria said: "I had worked good". Maria said, "I did a good job." | Past perfect | Maria was sure that she had worked good. Maria was sure that she worked well. |
Past perfect continuous | Diana told us: "I had been working on that project for two years." Diana told us: "I worked on this project for two years." | Past perfect continuous | It became known that she had been working on that project for two years. It became known that Diana worked on (this) that project for two years. |
| Times of Future Group (Future) |
| Future indefinite | Ben said: "I'll work on it" Ben said, "I will work on this." | Future in the Past (Simple) | Ben promised that he would work on that. Ben promised that he would work on it. |
| Future continuous | They said to me: "She will be working". I was told: "She will work." | Continuous future
in the Past | I was told that probably she would be working. They told me that most likely it will work. |
| Future perfect | She thought: "I'll have translated the book by Sunday". She thought, "I will translate the book by Sunday." | Perfect future
in the Past | She thought that she would have translated the book by Sunday. She thought she would translate the book by Sunday. |
Future perfect continuous | By tomorrow John will have been reading and translating these books for two months. Tomorrow will be two months now, as John reads these books and makes a translation. | Perfect Continuous Future in the Past | We knew that by tomorrow John would have been reading and translating those books for two months. We knew that tomorrow it would be already two months, as John reads and translates these (those) books. |
Adverbs and Pronouns
With changes associated with the transition to indirect speech, transformations occur not only in grammatical forms, but also in some related words: adverbs of time and pronouns.
- He said: "I admire the waterfall in National Park today." He said: "Today I admire the waterfall in the National Park."
He told us how he admired the waterfall that day. โHe told us how he admired the waterfall that day.โ
- She told us: "Yesterday I bought this turquoise dress." - She told us: "Yesterday I bought this turquoise dress."
She told us that she had bought that turquoise dress the day before. โShe told us that she bought this turquoise dress the day before.โ
Modal verbs
The use of modal verbs has some features. When moving to another temporary group, some changes are sometimes made.
Modal verbs are changed according to the following system.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| shall, will | would |
| can | could |
| may | might |
| must | must (if this is an assumption or logical reason) |
| must | had to (if obliged due to external circumstances) |
| shallow | should (if this is advice) |
He said: "I can fly the aircraft". - He said that he could fly the aircraft.
He said: "I can fly a plane." โHe said he could fly a plane.โ
However, there are a number of verbs that do not change: should, mustn't, would, had better, could, might, ought to, etc.
Exceptions
Harmonization of times does not apply to all cases. There are a number of exceptions:
1. If the subordinate clause refers to any scientific law or a well-known fact that remains relevant regardless of the influence or opinion of people, then the coordination of times is excluded.
- Our teacher told that air and water are necessary to animals.
Our teacher said that air and water are necessary for animals. - Primitive tribes didn't know that the Earth goes round the center of our Solar system - the Sun.
Primitive tribes did not know that the Earth revolves around the center of our solar system - the Sun.
2. When using the subjunctive mood in the subordinate part, the verb does not transfer to another time.
- If the wind were cold, she would go home. โIf the wind were cold, she would go home.โ
I knew that if the wind were cold, she would go home. โI knew that if the wind were cold, she would go home.โ
Such a grammatical phenomenon as the coordination of tenses is absent in the Russian language. To master this material, you need not only to understand the rules well, but also to practice independently writing sentences and dialogs using this topic. One of the best ways is to retell the dialogs in your own words.