Saat mengutip, jika kata kerja pengutip menggunakan past tense (said / told), tense dalam klausa biasanya mundur satu langkah:
- am / is → was; are → were; do / does → did.
- will → would; can → could; present perfect / simple past → past perfect.
Direct speech: "I will help you," she said. (ucapan asli)
Tidak langsung:
她She 说said 她she 会would 帮help 我me.
Dia mengatakan dia akan membantu saya. (will → would, I → she, you → me)
Pronoun dan kata keterangan waktu juga harus berubah: I → he / she, now → then, today → that day, tomorrow → the next day.
Perhatian jika yang dikutip adalah fakta universal, tense tidak perlu mundur: He said the sun rises in the east.
Kesalahan Umum
- ❌ ~~He said me the truth.~~ / ~~He told that he was busy.~~ → ✓ He told me… / He said (that)… — say tidak diikuti pendengar, tell harus diikuti pendengar, persis sebaliknya.
- ❌ ~~He asked me where did I live.~~ → ✓ He asked me where I lived. — Pertanyaan yang dikutip harus diubah kembali menjadi urutan kalimat deklaratif, did hilang.
- ❌ ~~She asked me that I was hungry.~~ → ✓ She asked me if / whether I was hungry. — Pertanyaan yes/no yang dikutip menggunakan if / whether, jangan pakai that.
- ❌ ~~He said he will come tomorrow.~~ → ✓ He said he would come the next day. — Tense dan kata keterangan waktu harus mundur bersamaan.