Reported speech

Question

Could you tell me if sentences in bold are correct ? If not please give brief explanation .

I d like to do it now , not tomorrow .
She said that she would like to do it then , not the next day .

I used your computer , but I did not break it .
She said that she had used my computer , but had not broken it . ( I am always confused with second sentence , I do not know should I change the tense )

Here I have similar problem :

Were you vaccinated before you left ?
He asked if I had been vaccinated before I left (or had left , I can not make it out )

Lock the door before you leave .
She told me to lock the door before I had left . (or just left )

How I can know whether to change the tense in the second part or not ?

Terryxpress · Accepted Answer

I'd like to do it now, not tomorrow .
She said that she would like to do it then , not the next day .

As you have discovered, the other sentences can present a problem for learners. So before we look at them, let's talk about the nature of reported speech.

Understand that, in English, there is strict Reported Speech; but this is almost never used in everyday English, even by newspaper reporters! It is mainly given as an exercise in class, and in exams, to show that you can transpose from the tense of the spoken words, to one of the past tense verb forms. (So be sure to do this in any exam!)
What speakers do, in general conversation, is indicate that something was said in the past - I told him/he said to me that... - ...and then use the tense that seems appropriate NOW, as they speak:

John:“I will have sent your birthday present by next week."
In strict Reported Speech, that becomes:
John told me he would have sent my birthday present by the following week.
But...
1. Suppose you have just spoken to John on the phone, and your mother asks what he said. This is general conversation, so you are more likely to say to your mother:
John said that he will have sent my birthday present by next week.
..."will have sent" because the present hasn't been sent yet! For you, it is still in the future!
2. Let's say that "...by next week" would have been Friday 1st May, and it is now 8th May. Let's look at what I might say now:
John said that he would send my birthday present by last Friday at the latest, so it should have arrived by now.

More examples are:
Me: "I'm moving to a new flat next Saturday. Can you help me move?"
Friend: "No, I'm working that day."
In strict Reported Speech, this would be:
I told him I was moving to a new flat the following Saturday, and asked if he could help me move. He said no, that he was working that day."
But imagine it is a day or two after that conversation; it's Friday, and I move tomorrow. My mother asks me:
Mother: Maybe your friend John has some spare time tomorrow and can help you.
I am likely to reply:
Me: I asked him, but he is working tomorrow.
Note that when 'reporting' the conversation to my mother, I don't follow the wording precisely; AND that I use the Present Tense, because this is Friday and I am moving/he is working tomorrow.
To say...
Me (to my mother): I asked him, but he was working tomorrow
...is talking about something in the future (it is Saturday he is working, and today is Friday) as if it has already happened and in the past, "was working". The speaker, in ordinary conversation, chooses the tense that makes the most sense to him.

(I'm running late. Someone else might like to tackle your other sentences; otherwise, I'll do it when I get home.)

EnglishGirl · Answer

Thank you very much .

Reported speech

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