Igeidőbeli változások függő beszéd használata esetén

Direkt beszédben levő kifejezés	Függő beszédben levő megfelelő kifejezés
Egyszerű jelen	Egyszerű múlt
"I always drink coffee", she said	She said that she always drank coffee.
Folyamatos jelen	Folyamatos múlt
"I am reading a book", he explained.	He explained that he was reading a book
Egyszerű múlt	Befejezett múlt
"Bill arrived on Saturday", he said.	He said that Bill had arrived on Saturday.
Befejezett jelen	Befejezett múlt
"I have been to Spain", he told me.	He told me that he had been to Spain.
Befejezett múlt	Befejezett múlt
"I had just turned out the light," he explained.	He explained that he had just turned out the light.
Folyamatos befejezett jelen	Folyamatos befejezett múlt
They complained, "We have been waiting for hours".	They complained that they had been waiting for hours.
Folyamatos múlt	Folyamatos befejezett múlt
"We were living in Paris", they told me.	They told me that they had been living in Paris.
Jövő	Feltételes jelen
"I will be in Geneva on Monday", he said.	He said that he would be in Geneva on Monday.
Folyamatos jövő	Folyamatos feltételes jelen
She said, "I'll be using the car next Friday".	She said that she would be using the car next Friday.

Ha az idéző ige jelen időben van, vagy ha az eredeti állítás még most is igaz, nem kell megcserélned az igeidőt. Például:

• 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.

 

Ezeket a modális igéket sosem változtatjuk meg függő beszéd esetén: 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.