Backshift of tenses
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from
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to
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Peter: "I work in the garden."
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Peter said that he worked in the garden.
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Peter: "I worked in the garden."
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Peter said that he had worked in the garden.
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Peter: "I have worked in the garden."
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Peter: "I had worked in the garden."
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Peter: "I will work in the garden."
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Peter said that he would work in the garden.
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Peter: "I can work in the garden."
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Peter said that he could work in the garden.
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Peter: "I may work in the garden."
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Peter said that he might work in the garden.
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Peter: "I would work in the garden."
(could, might, should, ought to)
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Peter said that he would work in the garden.
(could, might, should, ought to)
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Progressive forms
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Peter: "I'm working in the garden."
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Peter said that he was working in the garden.
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Peter: "I was working in the garden."
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Peter said that he had been working in the garden.
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Peter: "I have been working in the garden."
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Peter: "I had been working in the garden."
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If the sentence contains an
expression of time, you must change it as well.
Peter: "I worked in
the garden yesterday."
Peter said that he had worked in the garden the day before.
Shifting of expressions of time
this (evening)
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that (evening)
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today/this day
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that day
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these (days)
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those (days)
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now
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then
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(a week) ago
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(a week) before
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last weekend
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the weekend before / the previous weekend
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here
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there
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next (week)
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the following (week)
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tomorrow
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the next/following day
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