backshift
Past tense movement
Backshift is the adjustment of verb tenses when reporting speech indirectly.
If someone said I am tired, you report it as She said she was tired—the present tense shifts back to past.
The term appears mainly in grammar instruction.
In British English, backshift also names a late-night or early-morning work shift.
Time already gone
- preteriteSimple past tense
- pluperfectTense for earlier past
- imperfectHaving flaws or faults
- anteriorSituated toward the front
retrospective · sequential · conditional · temporal · would · could · might · had
Cited passage or price
- paraphraseRestatement in new words
- attributionAssigning origin or cause
- relayStage-by-stage transmission
- conveyCommunicate or transport
summarize · hearsay · secondhand · testimony · account · narration · retell · rephrase
past
Time already gone
- preteriteSimple past tense
- pluperfectTense for earlier past
- imperfectHaving flaws or faults
anterior · retrospective · sequential · conditional · temporal · would · could · might · had · was
quotation
Cited passage or price
- paraphraseRestatement in new words
- attributionAssigning origin or cause
- relayStage-by-stage transmission
convey · summarize · hearsay · secondhand · testimony · account · narration · retell · rephrase · restatement