When converting direct speech to indirect (reported) speech, several grammatical rules apply, including changes in pronouns, tense backshift, and sometimes changes in time and place expressions. The reporting verb (e.g., 'said') is usually in the past tense, which triggers a backshift in the tense of the reported clause.
The original sentence, "He said, 'I am tired,'" has 'I am tired' in the present simple tense. When reported, the pronoun 'I' changes to 'he' to reflect the original speaker. Crucially, the present simple tense 'am' must be backshifted to the past simple tense 'was' because the reporting verb 'said' is in the past tense. The conjunction 'that' is often used to introduce the reported clause, though it can sometimes be omitted. Therefore, the correct indirect speech is He said that he was tired.
- He said that he is tired is incorrect because it fails to backshift the tense from 'is' to 'was'. Tense backshift is necessary when the reporting verb is in the past tense, unless the reported statement is a universal truth or still true at the time of reporting.
- He said he tired is grammatically incorrect as it omits the necessary verb 'was' after 'he'.
- He says he was tired is incorrect because it changes the reporting verb from 'said' (past tense) to 'says' (present tense), which alters the context. If the reporting verb were 'says', the reported clause would typically remain in the present tense ('he is tired').