Changes in Time and Place Words

B1 · IntermediateReported Speech

"I'll call you tomorrow," he said (on Monday). → He said he would call me the next day.

What you'll learn

  • Time and place words shift when reported speech happens at a different time or place than the original words
  • today→that day, tomorrow→the next day, yesterday→the day before, now→then
  • here→there, this→that, these→those
  • If you're reporting speech on the same day and in the same place, these words often don't need to change

Why these words shift

Words like 'today', 'tomorrow', 'here', and 'this' depend on when and where they're spoken. When you report speech later or somewhere else, those words no longer point to the right day or place — so they shift to keep pointing correctly.

"Monday: "I'll call you tomorrow," he said."
"Reported on Wednesday: He said he would call me the next day."

Time word shifts

today → that day; tomorrow → the next day / the following day; yesterday → the day before / the previous day; now → then; next week → the following week; last week → the week before / the previous week; ago → before.

""I saw her two days ago." → He said he had seen her two days before."

Place and pointing-word shifts

here → there; this → that; these → those — because the speaker is no longer in the same place, or pointing at the same thing, as when the words were first spoken.

""I like this room," she said (in that room). → She said she liked that room."

When these words don't need to shift

If you're reporting speech on the same day, in the same place, these words can stay the same because they're still pointing correctly. 'Today' spoken and reported on the same day stays 'today'.

"Spoken and reported the same day: "I'm busy today," she said. → She said she was busy today."

Real English

"He said he would see me the following month."
"She said she had moved there the year before."
"He said those were his keys."
"She said she would call the next day."

Watch out

✗He said he would call me tomorrow. (reported the next day)
✓He said he would call me the next day.

'Tomorrow' no longer points to the right day once time has passed — shift it to 'the next day'.

✗She said she liked this room. (reported somewhere else)
✓She said she liked that room.

'This'/'here' point to the speaker's original location — shift to 'that'/'there' when reporting from elsewhere.

✗He said he had seen her two days ago.
✓He said he had seen her two days before.

'Ago' counts back from now, at the moment of speaking — in reported speech, use 'before' to count back from the original moment instead.

Real life — Relaying an old message

"Did Mia ever call back?"

"Yeah, last week. She said she'd be here the next day, but something came up."

"Did she say when she'd come instead?"

"She just said she'd let us know later that week."

Practice

Exercise 1 · Choose the correct shifted word

'today' becomes ___ in reported speech (spoken later, on a different day).

Exercise 2 · Choose the correct shifted word

'tomorrow' becomes ___ in reported speech.

Exercise 3 · Choose the correct shifted word

'yesterday' becomes ___ in reported speech.

Exercise 4 · Choose the correct shifted word

'here' becomes ___ in reported speech (reported in a different place).

Exercise 5 · Choose the correct shifted word

'this' becomes ___ in reported speech.

Exercise 6 · Choose the correct shifted word

'now' becomes ___ in reported speech.

Exercise 7 · Choose the correct shifted word

'next week' becomes ___ in reported speech.

Exercise 8 · Choose the correctly reported sentence

Choose the correctly reported sentence for: 'I saw her two days ago.' (reported later)

Exercise 9 · Report the sentence

Report this, said on Monday and reported on Wednesday: 'I'll call you tomorrow.' → He said he would call me ___.

Exercise 10 · Report the sentence

Report this, said by someone visiting your office: 'I like this room.' → She said she liked ___ room.

Exercise 11 · Sort into groups

today → that day
here → there
tomorrow → today
yesterday → the day before

0 / 4 sorted

Quick challenge

Five quick questions to check what stuck.

Question 1 / 5

Score: 0/0

'last week' becomes ___ in reported speech.

You learned

  • Time and place words shift when reported at a different time or place.
  • today→that day, tomorrow→the next day, yesterday→the day before, now→then.
  • here→there, this→that, these→those.
  • Same day, same place? These words often don't need to change.

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