Learn English – Present Tense in Habitual Reported Speech

reported-speechtense

I've known that when we write in Reported Speech and if the reporting verb is past tense, we must change the tense. But is it true for universal truth and habitual action? For example

  • She said, "When do the banks close?"

  • He said to me, "What does this word mean?"

In those cases, should we change the present tense to past? I mean, in our country, the banks close at 3:00 pm. Isn't it a habitual action?

Best Answer

According to the British Council:

It isn’t always necessary to change the tense. If something is still true now ... we can use the present simple in the reported sentence.

Note the word necessary. In many contexts, it is still permissible to backshift the tense, even if something is still true now.

She said, "When do the banks close?"
1) She asked me when the banks closed.
2) She asked me when the banks close.

The first version (with a backshift) is definitely the best choice if we are talking about a conversation that took place many years ago, as bank closing times may have changed since then. The second version is better if you are talking about a conversation that took place last week, but you could also use the first version.

He said to me, "What does this word mean?"
1) He asked me what this word meant
2) He asked me what this word means

It is very unlikely that the word has changed its meaning since the conversation took place, so either version is acceptable. I think that I would go for the first version (with a backshift), though I cannot explain my preference in any way.

Note that, unless you want to specify when you learnt about something "I have known about it for some time", you generally use know in the present tense: "I know that..."

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