Lesson 1.8 – Direct Quotations: Tense Matters

Lesson 1.8 – Direct Quotations: Tense Matters

Topic Progress:
Tense Matters

Let’s go back to one of our original examples of a direct quote.

The Smith family, owners of a 300-acre tract, said, “We refuse to cut the timber because it might cause drainage problems.”

-and-

The Smith family, owners of a 300-acre tract, said that they refused to cut the timber because it might cause drainage problems.

Note:  You will notice in the above examples that by changing the tense to past (refused), the second example becomes an indirect quote and quotation marks should NOT be used.

Indirect quotes will be covered further in Lesson 2.  Indirect quotes should not use quotation marks.

The below diagram will give you an overview of what tense to look for when deciding if the subject matter is a direct quote versus an indirect quote.

Remember, do not use quotation marks when using indirect quotes.

The Sequence of Tenses
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
Present simple
She said, “It’s snowing.”		 › Past simple
She said it was snowing.
Present continuous
She said, “I’m learning French online.”		 › Past continuous
She said she was learning French online.
Present perfect simple
She said, “I’ve been on the website since 3:00 p.m.”		 › Past perfect simple
She said she had been on the website since 3:00 p.m.
Present perfect continuous
She said, “I’ve been studying French for three years.”		 › Past perfect continuous
She said she had been studying French for three years.
Past simple
She said, “I taught French last year.”		 › Past perfect
She said she had taught French last year.
Past continuous
She said, “I was teaching French earlier.”		 › Past perfect continuous
She said she had been teaching French earlier.

 


May 27, 2015 | |