SAC Said That Flights Would Be Suspended: Reported Speech with Tense Shift
Words from the text: report, according to, said that, whether, confirm, disrupt, suspend, operator, capacity, hazard, schedule, reposition
A In Unit 5 you used said before a direct quote. Now we join the reported sentence to said with that, and the verb usually moves one step back into the past. This is called tense shift (backshift): present becomes past, and 'will' becomes 'would'.
Direct: "All flights are suspended." → SAC said that all flights were suspended.
Direct: "We have canceled flight KM642." → KM Malta Airlines confirmed that it had canceled flight KM642.
Direct: "The ash plume will reach 4 km." → INGV reported that the ash plume would reach 4 kilometers.
В русском языке время в косвенной речи не меняется ('Он сказал, что рейсы отменены'), поэтому после said that легко забыть сдвинуть время в английском предложении.
B The table shows the most common tense shifts after said that. The same shift happens after other reporting verbs, such as reported and confirmed.
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
| is / are | was / were |
| is/are + -ing | was/were + -ing |
| has/have + past participle | had + past participle |
| Past Simple | had + past participle |
| will | would |
| can / may | could / might |
| must | had to |
Direct: "The operator is operating with reduced capacity." → SAC said that the operator was operating with reduced capacity.
Direct: "Ash is a hazard for aircraft engines." → Officials said that ash was a hazard for aircraft engines.
Direct: "We must reposition the aircraft." → Airlines said that they had to reposition the aircraft.
C To report a yes/no question, use whether (or if) + subject + verb — not question word order. You can also introduce reported information with according to + a source, instead of a reporting verb.
Direct: "Will the airport reopen tomorrow?" → Passengers asked whether the airport would reopen tomorrow.
According to the airline, flights would remain canceled until Monday.
The operator said that it was not clear whether the schedule could be restored.
Exercises
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12.1 Translate the direct speech into reported speech with that and the correct tense shift.
Example: SAC: "All flight operations will be suspended until 12:00." → SAC said that all flight operations would be suspended until 12:00.
- KM Malta Airlines: "We have canceled flight KM642."
- INGV: "The ash plume is moving south."
- Aeroitalia: "We are operating our Rome–Catania service to Comiso."
- The operator: "We cannot restore the schedule yet."
- Delta Air Lines: "Our flight has diverted to Rome Fiumicino."
- Airlines: "We may need extra time to reposition aircraft."
Answers
For open questions, these are model answers. Other answers may also be correct.
- KM Malta Airlines confirmed that it had canceled flight KM642.
- INGV reported that the ash plume was moving south.
- Aeroitalia said that it was operating its Rome–Catania service to Comiso.
- The operator said that they could not restore the schedule yet.
- Delta Air Lines said that their flight had diverted to Rome Fiumicino.
- Airlines said that they might need extra time to reposition aircraft.
12.2 Each sentence has a mistake in tense agreement. Find it and correct it.
Example: SAC said that flights is suspended until 12:00. → SAC said that flights were suspended until 12:00.
- The operator said that the airport remain closed.
- KM Malta Airlines confirmed that it cancel the flight yesterday.
- INGV reported that the ash plume reach 4 kilometers.
- Brussels Airlines said that passengers will return on Monday.
- Airlines said that they can need extra time to reposition aircraft.
- SAC said that airspace sectors C1 and B3 closes.
Answers
For open questions, these are model answers. Other answers may also be correct.
- The operator said that the airport remained closed.
- KM Malta Airlines confirmed that it had canceled the flight the day before.
- INGV reported that the ash plume had reached 4 kilometers.
- Brussels Airlines said that passengers would return on Monday.
- Airlines said that they might need extra time to reposition aircraft.
- SAC said that airspace sectors C1 and B3 were closed.
12.3 Report these airline and agency messages from the third person, using said that, reported, confirmed, whether or according to.
Example: TUI fly Belgium: "We diverted our flight to Palermo." → TUI fly Belgium said that it had diverted its flight to Palermo.
- Passengers asked: "Will the airport reopen tomorrow?"
- Catania Airport operator: "We are operating with reduced capacity."
- INGV: "The ash plume has reached 4 kilometers."
- Airlines: "We may need extra time to restore the schedule."
- SAC: "Airspace sectors C1 and B3 are closed."
- Italian media reports: "At least 10 flights were diverted." (rewrite with According to)
Answers
For open questions, these are model answers. Other answers may also be correct.
- Passengers asked whether the airport would reopen tomorrow.
- The operator said that it was operating with reduced capacity.
- INGV reported that the ash plume had reached 4 kilometers.
- Airlines said that they might need extra time to restore the schedule.
- SAC said that airspace sectors C1 and B3 were closed.
- According to Italian media reports, at least 10 flights had been diverted.