Endringer i verbets tempus i indirekte tale

Frase i Direkte Tale	Tilsvarende Frase i Indirekte Tale
Vanlig presens	Preteritum
"I always drink coffee", she said	She said that she always drank coffee.
Presens samtidsform	Preteritum samtidsform
"I am reading a book", he explained.	He explained that he was reading a book
Preteritum	Preteritum samtidsform
"Bill arrived on Saturday", he said.	He said that Bill had arrived on Saturday.
Presens partisipp	Perfektum partisipp
"I have been to Spain", he told me.	He told me that he had been to Spain.
Perfektum partisipp	Perfektum partisipp
"I had just turned out the light," he explained.	He explained that he had just turned out the light.
Presens partisipp samtidsform	Perfektum partisipp samtidsform
They complained, "We have been waiting for hours".	They complained that they had been waiting for hours.
Preteritum samtidsform	Perfektum partisipp samtidsform
"We were living in Paris", they told me.	They told me that they had been living in Paris.
Futurum	Presens kondisjonalis
"I will be in Geneva on Monday", he said.	He said that he would be in Geneva on Monday.
Futurum kondisjonalis	Kondisjonalis samtidsform
She said, "I'll be using the car next Friday".	She said that she would be using the car next Friday.

Du trenger ikke endre tempus når det gjengivende verbet står i presens, eller hvis den originelle uttalelsen er fortsatt gyldig, for eksempel:

• He says he has missed the train but he'll catch the next one.
• We explained that it is very difficult to find our house.

 

Disse modale verbene endres aldri i indirekte tale: might, could, would, should, ought to:

• We explained, "It could be difficult to find our house." = We explained that it could be difficult to find our house.
• She said, "I might bring a friend to the party." = She said that she might bring a friend to the party.