He got better but never remembered: reported speech with had done, that day and there

Q: How do time words change in reported speech?

When you report words on a different day, change the time words to fit the new moment : today → that day , yesterday → the day before , tomorrow → the next day , now → then , ago → before , last week → the week before . On the same day, keep today . A table in He got better but never remembered , a B1 lesson on edio.ai, lists them all.

Q: What happens to the present perfect in reported speech?

In a report about a past moment, the present perfect becomes the past perfect : “I've never traced a star in a mirror” becomes Riley admitted that she had never traced a star in a mirror. Haven't becomes hadn't , the same for every person. For a past simple, you can keep it or use had : he said he tested and he said he had tested are both fine. The edio.ai lesson He got better but never remembered drills it.

Q: Do place words change in reported speech?

Yes, when you report from a different place: here becomes there , and this becomes that . In the lab, Boyd says, “I work here every day.” Back in the studio, Riley reports: Boyd said he worked there every day. In the same lab, she could keep here . A scheme tip in He got better but never remembered on edio.ai explains when to change and when to keep.

Q: What's the difference between "ago" and "before" in reported speech?

Ago counts back from now, before from then . Last year, Boyd said, “I started this study two years ago.” Reported today, it's Boyd said he had started the study two years before , because two years ago from today would be the wrong year. A quiz and a gap-fill in He got better but never remembered on edio.ai test this trap.

Q: Who was patient H.M.?

Patient H.M. was Henry Molaison, a man from Connecticut . In 1953, when he was 27, he had an operation on his brain, and after it he could not form new long-term memories. Scientists wrote about him only as H.M. for decades; his name became public in 2008. He took part in research for 53 years, and his case is in most introductory psychology textbooks. He got better but never remembered on edio.ai tells his story.

Q: What was H.M.'s mirror tracing test?

The scientist Brenda Milner asked him to trace a star that he saw only in a mirror , a five-pointed star with a double outline. Most people find this hard at first. He practiced over three days and improved steadily, but at the end he had no memory of having done the task before. Milner reported it in 1962, and it gave scientists the first hint that the brain has more than one kind of memory.

Q: How do I teach reported speech tense changes to B1 students?

Put two moments on the board : when the words were said and when they're reported. Students see that tomorrow , said last Monday, is the next day now, and that I've never… becomes she had never… . He got better but never remembered on edio.ai does the same with a lab visit reported a day and a week later, then five drills.

Q: What's a good game for practicing reported speech time expressions?

Opening boxes of real messages works well: a student opens one, such as Think of a message that you got last week , and reports it with that day , the day before or the next day . In He got better but never remembered on edio.ai, the boxes come after a chat where the student passes on a classmate's voice message.

Q: What's good homework for reported speech with time words?

Good homework gives a date for every report , so only one answer fits: On Saturday, Mercedes said, “I'm going to the science museum today.” On Monday, Archie said she was going to the museum that day . A quiz that works backward, from she had lost her keys the day before to “I lost my keys yesterday,” checks the meaning. All ten homework tasks in He got better but never remembered on edio.ai check themselves.

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches reported speech tense changes with time and place words through patient H.M., whose mirror test first hinted at more than one kind of memory.

Grammar: Reports made later or somewhere else: have done → had done, plus time and place words such as today → that day, tomorrow → the next day and here → there.
Topic: Henry Molaison, known in science as H.M., and the star test, with words such as outline, reflection, progress and wobbly.
Activities: Episode notes to read, a star test in a campus lab and a listener's message to hear, self-checking drills, a message-passing chat and open boxes.

What's inside

Chapter 1Warm-up: don't forget this!
- PictureUnlock
- Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
- Study the words: memory and learningVocabularyTry it
- Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock
Chapter 2Let's read: a star in the mirror
- Look at the picture: the star testPictureUnlock
- Read the episode notesArticleUnlock
- Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 3Let's listen: Riley tries the star test
- Listen to Riley and BoydListeningTry it
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
- Listen to The Listener's Take: CelesteListeningUnlock
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
Chapter 4Grammar: He said he had never done it before
- Study the scheme: reported statements about the pastGrammar schemeTry it
- Fill in the gaps: report with had + past participleFill in the gapsTry it
- Choose the correct option: time and place wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the table: Riley's report a week later (have / has → had)Fill in the tableUnlock
- Choose the correct answer: which report is correct?QuizUnlock
- Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
Chapter 5Let's talk: what did Archie say?
- Choose the right replies: tell Mercedes what Archie saidChatTry it
- Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
- Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
- Choose the correct option: new reportsChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: new reports with had + past participleFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the correct answer: what were the exact words?QuizUnlock
- Put the words in the correct order: new reportsUnjumbleUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: Riley's message to the teamDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the correct option: Boyd's lab notebookChoose the optionUnlock

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

juggling
outline
reflection
participant
pastime
crossword
textbook
progress
wobbly

Grammar: reported statements about the past

When you report words later or somewhere else, more than the verb changes: “I've never tried it” becomes She said she had never tried it, and tomorrow becomes the next day. A star test in a memory lab, reported back in the studio, shows learners when the time and place words need to change.

He said he had never done it before

Report words later or somewhere else: have / has done becomes had done, and words like today, yesterday and here change.

Have done becomes had done

In a report about a past moment, have or has + past participle becomes had + past participle: “I've never tried it” → Riley said she had never tried it. Haven't becomes hadn't. For their past simple, both forms are fine: he said he tested or had tested.

The verb moves back

Their words	Your report later	Example
have / has + past participle	had + past participle	Riley: “I've never tried it.” → Riley said she had never tried it.
haven't / hasn't + past participle	hadn't + past participle	Boyd: “I haven't finished.” → Boyd told me he hadn't finished.
past simple	past simple or had + past participle: both are fine	Boyd: “I tested ten students.” → He said he tested / had tested ten students.
am / is / are, will, can	was / were, would, could	Boyd: “I'm tired.” → Boyd said he was tired.

had + past participle: the same for every person

Person	Yes	No
I	I had (I'd) forgotten	I hadn't forgotten
you	you had (you'd) forgotten	you hadn't forgotten
he	he had (he'd) forgotten	he hadn't forgotten
she	she had (she'd) forgotten	she hadn't forgotten
it	it had stopped	it hadn't stopped
we	we had (we'd) forgotten	we hadn't forgotten
they	they had (they'd) forgotten	they hadn't forgotten

Time and place words

The words for time and place shift too: today → that day, yesterday → the day before, tomorrow → the next day, now → then, here → there, this → that. Ago becomes before, and last week becomes the week before.

Their words	Your report later or somewhere else
today	that day
yesterday	the day before (or the previous day)
tomorrow	the next day (or the following day)
now	then
here	there
this (this week)	that (that week)
two days ago	two days before
last week	the week before (or the previous week)

Change them only when it helps

On the same day, keep today; in the same lab, keep here. A week later it's that day, and back in the studio it's there. Ask yourself: is their tomorrow my tomorrow?

Change them only when it helps

Change the words when the time or the place is different. On the same day, keep today: Boyd said the test was today. A week later, it's that day. In the same lab, keep here. Back in the studio, it's there. Think: is their tomorrow my tomorrow?

Say, tell, explain and admit

Say takes that and the words; tell takes a person first: He told me I had done well. Explain and admit work like say: She admitted that she had never tried it. He explained the test to me, not explained me.

say or tell?

say + (that): He said (that) I had done well. tell + a person + (that): He told me (that) I had done well. Not: He said me… Not: He told that… explain and admit work like say: She admitted (that) she had never tried it. He explained the test to me (not: explained me).

In the memory lab

Riley admitted that she had never traced a star in a mirror.
Darius told Riley he had done the test perfectly at home.
Researchers reported that H.M. had improved steadily.
Boyd told Riley she had done better than most people that day.
A week later, Riley said Boyd worked there every day.
Celeste said her grandpa had learned to juggle at eighty.

Common mistakes

A moment that's over takes had: Before the test, she said she had never done it, not has never. He said he would call me tomorrow, reported a week later, needs the next day, and two days ago in last year's report becomes two days before.

Before the test, she said she has never done it.
Before the test, she said she had never done it.
a report about a past moment: have / has → had
A week ago, he said he would call me tomorrow.
A week ago, he said he would call me the next day.
his tomorrow is not your tomorrow
Back in the studio: Boyd told me he worked here.
Back in the studio: Boyd told me he worked there.
a different place: here → there
Last year, she said she had moved two days ago.
Last year, she said she had moved two days before.
ago counts back from now; before counts back from then

More lessons on this grammar: Reported speech lessons and exercises

Try the reported speech tense changes exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

What's in the lesson

17 auto-checked exercises
6 games
1 article
1 grammar scheme
1 set of word cards
2 audio clips
2 pictures
2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

report the present perfect with had + past participle: Riley admitted that she had never traced a star in a mirror.
change time words when the day is different: today → that day, yesterday → the day before, tomorrow → the next day
change place words when the place is different: back in the studio, Boyd told me he worked there, not here
use before for ago in an old report: Last year, she said she had moved two days before.
report with say, tell, explain and admit: He said he had already explained the experiment to her.

Lesson 14 is the second lesson of Memory and learning, unit 4 of English B1.2 · Changemakers. It builds on lesson 13 (say, tell and the step back) and on the present perfect of A2.2 lessons 1, 2, 5 and 6, which now steps back to had + past participle. Lesson 15 moves on to reported questions. H.M.'s story is a report of what scientists found decades ago, and Riley's lab visit is reported a day later, so the time words have to change.

Students spin a wheel of questions about memory, then learn twelve words, from forget and admit to crossword and wobbly, with pictures and audio. They read the show's episode notes on H.M. and Brenda Milner's star test, then hear Riley trace a star in a mirror with Boyd, a graduate student, and Celeste, a listener from Connecticut, report her grandpa's new skill, both AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking drills, including a report of Boyd's words a week later. In the speaking chapter, students pass on a classmate's voice message in a chat, then open boxes to report real messages.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a match, an anagram, a gap-fill and a memory game on the words; then a choice of time words, gaps with had + past participle, a quiz on the exact words, word order, Riley's group-chat report from the lab and Boyd's lab notebook, both with gaps.

Grammar:: reported speech · reported statements · had + past participle in reports · time and place words · say and tell
Topic:: H.M. · memory · Brenda Milner · mirror tracing · skills · psychology · Connecticut · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

Try the star test in class: a mirror, a pencil and a star with a double outline are enough. A week later, students report what their partner said: She said it was impossible that day.
Draw a timeline on the board with the day before, that day and the next day under a past date, and yesterday, today and tomorrow under now. Students point to the right word for each report.
Ask if you can learn without remembering before the episode notes. Students guess, then read about H.M.'s star test to check.
Report Monday's news on Friday: on Monday, collect three sentences from students (I'm tired today); on Friday, the class reports them: On Monday, he said he was tired that day.

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The whole course: English B1.2 · Changemakers

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, about people and ideas that changed things: start-ups, future cities, food, memory, customs, art, volunteers and adventure. The podcast team of English B1.1 is back for a season called Changemakers. Learners use the second conditional, the passive, reported speech, the past perfect, relative clauses and verb patterns, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

Unit 1 Start-up stories
the second conditional, If I were you, the first vs the second conditional, also, too, as well and besides
Unit 2 Cities of tomorrow
the passive in the present simple and the past simple, with modals, and in the present perfect and present continuous
Unit 3 Food for the future
comparative and superlative adverbs, the future passive, verbs with prepositions, phrasal verbs with up, away and out
Unit 4 Memory and learning
reported statements with say and tell, tense changes, time and place words, reported questions, requests and commands
1. Lesson 13Can you train your memory?Reported statements with say and tell
2. Lesson 14 · you're hereHe got better but never rememberedReported statements about the past
3. Lesson 15Can a TV show teach the alphabet?Reported questions
4. Lesson 16Can you learn a new skill at 70?Reported requests and commands
Unit 5 Customs and manners
degree adverbs such as quite and pretty, the past perfect, the past perfect vs the past simple, make vs do
Unit 6 Art and design
relative clauses with whose, non-defining relative clauses, relative clauses without a pronoun, when and why
Unit 7 Volunteers and changemakers
verb + -ing or to, -ing as a subject and after prepositions, stop, remember, try and forget, prefer and would rather
Unit 8 Adventure and challenge
possessive 's vs of, must and can't for deduction, might, may and could for possibility, the meanings of get

Questions about this lesson

How do time words change in reported speech?

When you report words on a different day, change the time words to fit the new moment: today → that day, yesterday → the day before, tomorrow → the next day, now → then, ago → before, last week → the week before. On the same day, keep today. A table in He got better but never remembered, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, lists them all.

What happens to the present perfect in reported speech?

In a report about a past moment, the present perfect becomes the past perfect: “I've never traced a star in a mirror” becomes Riley admitted that she had never traced a star in a mirror. Haven't becomes hadn't, the same for every person. For a past simple, you can keep it or use had: he said he tested and he said he had tested are both fine. The edio.ai lesson He got better but never remembered drills it.

Do place words change in reported speech?

Yes, when you report from a different place: here becomes there, and this becomes that. In the lab, Boyd says, “I work here every day.” Back in the studio, Riley reports: Boyd said he worked there every day. In the same lab, she could keep here. A scheme tip in He got better but never remembered on edio.ai explains when to change and when to keep.

What's the difference between "ago" and "before" in reported speech?

Ago counts back from now, before from then. Last year, Boyd said, “I started this study two years ago.” Reported today, it's Boyd said he had started the study two years before, because two years ago from today would be the wrong year. A quiz and a gap-fill in He got better but never remembered on edio.ai test this trap.

Is it "he said he would call tomorrow" or "the next day"?

It depends on when you report it. Reported a week later, it's the next day: A week ago, he said he would call me the next day. His tomorrow isn't your tomorrow anymore. Reported later the same day, tomorrow is still right. In He got better but never remembered on edio.ai, every drill item says when the words were said, so only one answer fits.

Who was patient H.M.?

Patient H.M. was Henry Molaison, a man from Connecticut. In 1953, when he was 27, he had an operation on his brain, and after it he could not form new long-term memories. Scientists wrote about him only as H.M. for decades; his name became public in 2008. He took part in research for 53 years, and his case is in most introductory psychology textbooks. He got better but never remembered on edio.ai tells his story.

What was H.M.'s mirror tracing test?

The scientist Brenda Milner asked him to trace a star that he saw only in a mirror, a five-pointed star with a double outline. Most people find this hard at first. He practiced over three days and improved steadily, but at the end he had no memory of having done the task before. Milner reported it in 1962, and it gave scientists the first hint that the brain has more than one kind of memory.

How do I teach reported speech tense changes to B1 students?

Put two moments on the board: when the words were said and when they're reported. Students see that tomorrow, said last Monday, is the next day now, and that I've never… becomes she had never…. He got better but never remembered on edio.ai does the same with a lab visit reported a day and a week later, then five drills.

What's a good game for practicing reported speech time expressions?

Opening boxes of real messages works well: a student opens one, such as Think of a message that you got last week, and reports it with that day, the day before or the next day. In He got better but never remembered on edio.ai, the boxes come after a chat where the student passes on a classmate's voice message.

What's good homework for reported speech with time words?

Good homework gives a date for every report, so only one answer fits: On Saturday, Mercedes said, “I'm going to the science museum today.” On Monday, Archie said she was going to the museum that day. A quiz that works backward, from she had lost her keys the day before to “I lost my keys yesterday,” checks the meaning. All ten homework tasks in He got better but never remembered on edio.ai check themselves.

How do you practice time and place words one-to-one?

Report the last lesson together: what did the student say last week, and what's different now? Last week, you said you were busy that day. Then swap roles. The chat in He got better but never remembered on edio.ai works alone: the student tells a classmate about yesterday's voice message, and the right reply is He said he would wait for us there, not here.

Are there interactive exercises for reported speech time expressions?

Yes: gap-fills and chats that show the right answer at once. This page plays three parts of He got better but never remembered, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, without an account: Riley's star test with Boyd in a campus lab, a gap-fill that reports with had + past participle and a chat that passes on a classmate's message. Sign up to open the rest.

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About this lesson

What's inside

Vocabulary

Grammar: reported statements about the past

Have done becomes had done

The verb moves back

had + past participle: the same for every person

Time and place words

Change them only when it helps

Say, tell, explain and admit

In the memory lab

Common mistakes

Try the reported speech tense changes exercises

What's in the lesson

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

Teaching tips

Teach the whole lesson in edio

Start a free trial

Open the lesson

Teach it live or as homework

The whole course: English B1.2 · Changemakers

Unit 1 Start-up stories

Unit 2 Cities of tomorrow

Unit 3 Food for the future

Unit 4 Memory and learning

Unit 5 Customs and manners

Unit 6 Art and design

Unit 7 Volunteers and changemakers

Unit 8 Adventure and challenge

Questions about this lesson

Teach this lesson with your students