Hi Alan, can you confirm that when the passive voice is used in reported speech you go back a tense in exactly the same way as reporting an active voice sentence?
For example:-
The book was written by J.K. Rowling.
Changes to
She said that the book was written by J.K. Rowling.
&
She said that the book had been written by J.K. Rowling.
Am I correct?
Thank you!
Passive Voice in Reported Speech - Tenses
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Re: Passive Voice in Reported Speech - Tenses
Strictly speaking, yes.
However, natives are notoriously lazy in this kind of case, and many would accept an unchanged 'was' .
However, natives are notoriously lazy in this kind of case, and many would accept an unchanged 'was' .