Changing Time and Place Words

In our previous chapters, we mastered how to shift pronouns to reflect who is talking, and how to shift tenses backward in time when the reporting verb is in the past tense. We also looked at the exceptions where tenses stay exactly as they are.

But there is one more crucial piece to the narration puzzle. Imagine you meet a friend at a coffee shop on a Tuesday afternoon. Your friend points to a slice of cake on the table and says, "I will eat this cake here* tomorrow."*

Now, imagine it is Friday. You are sitting in your own living room, telling your brother about that Tuesday meeting. If you simply change the pronouns and the tense, you would say: He said that he would eat this cake here* tomorrow.*

Think about what that sentence actually means to your brother on a Friday in your living room. "This cake" implies the cake is in your living room. "Here" means your living room. "Tomorrow" means Saturday.

None of that is true! The cake was at the coffee shop, "here" meant the coffee shop, and "tomorrow" meant Wednesday.

To report speech accurately, you cannot just change the grammar; you have to change the perspective. Because you are reporting the speech at a different time and in a different place, words that describe time and place must be adjusted to match your new reality.

In this chapter, we will learn exactly how to convert these words of time and proximity (closeness) when moving from direct to indirect speech.

The Core Logic: Near Becomes Far

Direct speech is a snapshot. It captures exactly what a person said, from their exact physical location, at that exact second in time.

Indirect speech is a retelling. You are usually retelling the story from a distance—both a distance in time (later) and a distance in space (somewhere else). Because of this distance, words that express closeness in direct speech must change to words that express distance in indirect speech.

Let us break these changes down into four clear categories: words of place and pointing, words of present time, words of past time, and words of future time.

Category 1: Words of Place and Pointing

When a speaker points to something near them, they use words like "this," "these," and "here." When you report what they said later, you are no longer standing next to those objects or in that place. Therefore, you must point to them from a distance.

Here are the standard conversions:

• This changes to That
• These changes to Those
• Here changes to There

Examples in Action

Direct: She said, "I like this painting." Indirect: She said that she liked that painting. (Why? Because you are no longer standing in front of the painting when you report the sentence.)

Direct: The farmer said, "I will plant apples here." Indirect: The farmer said that he would plant apples there. (Why? Because you are no longer standing in the field when you tell the story.)

Direct: He said, "Put these boxes in the corner." Indirect: He ordered them to put those boxes in the corner. (Why? Because the boxes are no longer right next to you.)

Category 2: Words of Present Time

When someone speaks in the present moment, they use words like "now" or "today." But by the time you report their words, that moment has passed. "Now" has become a moment in the past, and "today" has become a specific day in the past.

Here are the standard conversions:

• Now changes to Then
• Today changes to That day
• Tonight changes to That night

Examples in Action

Direct: The manager said, "I am busy now." Indirect: The manager said that he was busy then. (Why? Because he was busy at that specific moment in the past, not right now as you are speaking.)

Direct: Rahul said, "I have a headache today." Indirect: Rahul said that he had a headache that day. (Why? If you say "today," the listener will think Rahul has a headache on the day you are speaking, which might be weeks later.)

Direct: She said, "We are going to a party tonight." Indirect: She said that they were going to a party that night.

Category 3: Words of Past Time

When a speaker refers to the past, they use words like "yesterday" or "last week." But remember, their "yesterday" is relative to the day they were speaking. If they spoke on a Tuesday, "yesterday" meant Monday. If you report this on a Friday, you cannot use the word "yesterday" (which would mean Thursday to your listener).

Instead, you must describe the time relative to the day the person spoke.

Here are the standard conversions:

• Yesterday changes to The previous day (or The day before)
• Last night changes to The previous night (or The night before)
• Last week/month/year changes to The previous week/month/year
• Ago changes to Before

Examples in Action

Direct: The teacher said, "You were absent yesterday." Indirect: The teacher said that I had been absent the previous day. (Notice the tense change too: simple past "were" became past perfect "had been".)

Direct: He said, "I arrived in Delhi two days ago." Indirect: He said that he had arrived in Delhi two days before.

Direct: She said, "We bought this house last year." Indirect: She said that they had bought that house the previous year. (Notice that "this" also changed to "that" in the same sentence!)

Category 4: Words of Future Time

Just like the past, the future is relative. If someone says "tomorrow" on a Monday, they mean Tuesday. If you report it on a Thursday, you cannot say "tomorrow" (which would mean Friday). You have to express that it was the day after they spoke.

Here are the standard conversions:

• Tomorrow changes to The next day (or The following day)
• Next week/month/year changes to The following week/month/year

Examples in Action

Direct: The principal announced, "The school will remain closed tomorrow." Indirect: The principal announced that the school would remain closed the next day. (Notice that the modal verb "will" also changed to its past form "would".)

Direct: He said, "I am starting my new job next week." Indirect: He said that he was starting his new job the following week.

The "Same Day / Same Place" Exception

Up until now, we have assumed that you are reporting the speech at a different time and in a different place. But what if you aren't?

This is a nuance that examiners love to test because it requires you to actually think about the meaning of the sentence, rather than just blindly applying a formula.

Scenario A: Reporting on the same day. Imagine it is 9:00 AM on a Monday. Your colleague says, "I will finish the report today." At 2:00 PM on that exact same Monday, the boss asks you what your colleague said. Direct: He said, "I will finish the report today." Indirect: He said that he would finish the report today. (Because it is still Monday, "today" is still accurate. Changing it to "that day" would sound strange and distant.)

Scenario B: Reporting in the same place. Imagine you are standing in the office cafeteria. Your friend says, "I love the coffee here." Five minutes later, while still standing in the exact same cafeteria, someone asks what your friend said. Direct: He said, "I love the coffee here." Indirect: He said that he loved the coffee here. (Because you are still in the cafeteria, "here" is still perfectly accurate. Changing it to "there" would imply a different location.)

How to handle this in an exam: In a multiple-choice exam, unless the sentence specifically gives you context that the reporting is happening on the same day or in the same place (e.g., "This morning, he said..."), you must always assume that time has passed and the location has changed. Always apply the standard conversions (today -> that day, here -> there) unless explicitly told otherwise.

Worked Examples: Putting It All Together

When you convert a sentence from direct to indirect speech, you are usually juggling three balls at once:

1. 1Changing the Pronouns
2. 2Changing the Tense
3. 3Changing the Time/Place words

Let's look at a step-by-step process for a complex sentence.

Direct Speech: Sonia said to me, "I cannot help you with this project tomorrow."

Final Indirect Speech: Sonia told me that she could not help me with that project the next day.

Let's do one more.

Direct Speech: The detective said, "We found the stolen car here yesterday."

Final Indirect Speech: The detective said that they had found the stolen car there the previous day.

Other Minor Conversions to Know

While we have covered the most common words, there are a few other proximity words that occasionally appear in exams. Treat them with the exact same "near becomes far" logic:

• Thus changes to So (or In that way)

Direct: He said, "I did it thus." Indirect: He said that he had done it so.

• Come sometimes changes to Go (if the perspective shifts away from the destination)

Direct: She said, "I will come to your house." Indirect: She said that she would go to my house.

• Hence changes to Thence (though this is quite archaic and rare in modern exams)
• Hither changes to Thither (also very archaic)

Quick Revision

Before you head into the exam, memorize this conversion table. Remember, these changes happen because the reporter is speaking from a different time and place than the original speaker.

Words of Place / Pointing:

• This ➔ That
• These ➔ Those
• Here ➔ There

Words of Present Time:

• Now ➔ Then
• Today ➔ That day
• Tonight ➔ That night

Words of Past Time:

• Yesterday ➔ The previous day / The day before
• Last night ➔ The previous night / The night before
• Last week ➔ The previous week
• Ago ➔ Before

Words of Future Time:

• Tomorrow ➔ The next day / The following day
• Next week ➔ The following week

The Golden Exception:

• If the reporting happens on the same day or at the same place, the time and place words do not change. (Assume standard changes apply in exams unless context proves otherwise).