Modal changes in indirect speech
Similarly to tenses, modals change in indirect speech if the reported words are no longer true or are out-of-date:
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
|---|---|
| can (ability, present) | could |
| can (ability, future) | would be able to |
| may (possibility) | might |
| may (permission, present) | could |
| may (permission, future) | would be allowed to |
| must (obligation, present) | must / had to |
| must (obligation, future) | must / would have to |
| needn't (necessity, present) |
didn't have to / didn't need to |
| needn't (necessity, future) | wouldn't have to |
| shall (future time) |
would |
| shall (offers, suggestions) |
should |
| will | would |
The following modals do not change:
| Modals which do not change in indirect speech |
|---|
| could would might must (deduction) mustn't had better should ought to used to |
