Education, Secondary education and schools
Time alignment in English
In English there is a grammatical phenomenon known as sequence, or timing of time. If the predicate is placed in the main part of the sentence in the past tense (mainly in the Past Indefinite), this will entail a change in the verb forms of the subordinate clause. Most often such a shift occurs when necessary to convert direct speech into indirect speech.
Time alignment: table and rules
In cases where the main part of the compound sentence contains a predicate in the present or future time, the verb in the clause is not limited to any rules and can appear in any desired temporal form. However, if in the main sentence the verb acting as a predicate is put in one of the past times, the second part requires changes in a certain system. In the Russian language, this phenomenon does not exist. This is one of the many grammatical features that English has (time alignment). The table helps to see the difference.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech | ||
| Times of the Present group (present) | |||
Present Indefinite (Simple) | Angela said: "I work on it." Angela said: "I'm working on this." (Constantly, regularly or occasionally, from time to time) | Past Indefinite (Simple) | Anglela said that she worked on it. Angela said that she worked (worked) on this. |
Present Progressive (Continuous) | Cecilia told us: "I am working at this moment". Cecilia told us: "I'm working at the moment." | Past Continuous (Progressive) | Cecilia told us that she was working at that moment. Cecilia told us that she was busy (working) at that moment. |
| Present Perfect | We thought: "Mary have worked excellent today". We thought, "Mary did a great job today." (And now the result is visible) | Past Perfect | We thought that Mary had worked excellent that day. We thought that Mary did a good job that day. |
Present Perfect Continuous | Camilla complain: "I have been working for five hours together. Camilla complains: "I work for five hours straight." | Past Perfect Continuous | Camilla complained that she had been working for five hours together. Camilla complained that she worked five hours in a row. |
| Past group times (past) | |||
| Past Indefinite (Simple) | Clara worked at home. Clara worked at home. | Past Perfect | We found out that Clara had worked at home. We learned that Clara worked at home. |
| Past Continuous (Progressive) | He know: "Daria was working here yesterday". She knows: "Daria worked here yesterday." | Past Perfect Continuous | He knew that Daria had been working there the previous day. He knew that Daria worked there the day before. |
| Past Perfect | Maria said: "I had worked good". Maria said: "I worked well." | Past Perfect | Maria was sure that she had worked good. Maria was sure that she worked well. |
Past Perfect Continuous | Diana said us: "I had been working on that project for two years". Diana told us: "I worked on this project for two years." | Past Perfect Continuous | It became known that she had been working on that project for two years. It became known that Diana worked on this project for two years. |
| Group Times Future (future) | |||
| Future Indefinite | Ben said: "I'll work on it" Ben said, "I'll work on this." | Future in the Past (Simple) | Ben promised that he would work on that. Ben promised that he would work on it. |
| Future Continuous | They said to me: "She will be working". They told me: "It will work." | Continuous Future In the past | I was told that probably she would be working. I was told that it will most likely work. |
| Future Perfect | She thought: "I'll have to translate the book by Sunday". She thought: "I will translate the book by Sunday." | Perfect Future In the past | She thought that she would be translated by Sunday. She thought she would translate the book by Sunday. |
Future Perfect Continuous | By tomorrow John will have been reading and translating these books for two months. Tomorrow it will be two months since John reads these books and makes a translation. | Perfect Continuous Future in the Past | We knew that by tomorrow, John would have been reading and translating those books for two months. We knew that tomorrow it will be two months since John reads and translates these (those) books. |
Adverbs and pronouns
In the case of changes related to the transition to indirect speech, the transformations take place not only in grammatical forms, but also in some compatible words: adverbs of time and pronouns.
- He said: "I admire the waterfall in National Park today." He said: "Today I admire the waterfall in the National Park."
He told us how he admired the waterfall that day. - He told us how he admired the waterfall that day.
- She told us: "Yesterday I bought this turquoise dress". - She told us: "Yesterday I bought this turquoise dress."
She told us that she had bought that turquoise dress the day before. - She told us that she bought this turquoise dress the day before.
Modal verbs
In the use of modal verbs, there are some features. When changing to another temporary group, some changes are sometimes made.
Modal verbs are modifed according to the following system.
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| Shall | Would |
| Can | Could |
| May | Might |
| Must | Must (if this assumption or logical arguments) |
| Must | Had to (if due is due to external circumstances) |
| Shall | Should (if this is advice) |
He said: "I can fly the aircraft". - He said that he could fly the aircraft.
He said: "I know how to fly an airplane." "He said he could fly an airplane."
However, there are a number of verbs that do not change: should, should not, would, had better, could, might, ought to, etc.
Exceptions
Time alignment does not apply to all cases. There are a number of exceptions:
1. If the subordinate clause refers to a scientific law or a well-known fact that remains relevant regardless of the influence or opinion of people, then the time agreement is excluded.
- Our teacher is told that air and water are necessary to animals.
Our teacher said that air and water are necessary for animals. - Primitive tribes did not know that the Earth went round the center of our Solar system - the Sun.
Primitive tribes did not know that the Earth revolves around the center of our solar system - the Sun.
2. When using the subjunctive mood in the subordinate part, the verb does not change at another time.
- If the wind were cold, she would go home. "If the wind was cold, she would have gone home."
I knew that if the wind were cold, she would go home. "I knew that if the wind were cold, she would have gone home.
Such a grammatical phenomenon, as the coordination of times, is absent in the Russian language. To master this material, you need not only to understand the rules well, but also to train yourself in the independent preparation of proposals and dialogues using this topic. One of the best ways is to retell the dialogues in your own words.
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