reported speech questions future tense

Reported speech – will-future – Sentences – Exercise

Task no. 2339.

Finish the sentences using Reported speech. Always change the tense, although it is sometimes not necessary.

Willy, "They will try to help." Willy said (that)  

Willy said (that) they would try to help .

Do you need help?

Reported speech

• Henry, "I will be late." Henry said (that) .
• Victoria, "Dan will meet Tim at five." Victoria said (that) .
• Mum, "The boys will repair the bike." Mum told me (that) .
• Dad, "Sue will invite all her friends to the party." Dad mentioned (that) .
• Lucy, "The teachers will ask questions." Lucy told me (that) .
• Alexander, "The cat will not climb the tree." Alexander said (that) .
• Alisha, "I'll phone my friend." Alisha told me (that) .
• Ian, "They will buy new furniture." Ian said (that) .
• Ron and Cliff, "We will learn new phrases." Ron and Cliff told me (that) .
• Jeremy, "They won't drink coffee." Jeremy remarked (that) .
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• Reported Speech

Reported Speech: Rules, Examples, Exceptions

👉 Quiz 1 / Quiz 2

Advanced Grammar Course

What is reported speech?

“Reported speech” is when we talk about what somebody else said – for example:

• Direct Speech: “I’ve been to London three times.”
• Reported Speech: She said she’d been to London three times.

There are a lot of tricky little details to remember, but don’t worry, I’ll explain them and we’ll see lots of examples. The lesson will have three parts – we’ll start by looking at statements in reported speech, and then we’ll learn about some exceptions to the rules, and finally we’ll cover reported questions, requests, and commands.

So much of English grammar – like this topic, reported speech – can be confusing, hard to understand, and even harder to use correctly. I can help you learn grammar easily and use it confidently inside my Advanced English Grammar Course.

In this course, I will make even the most difficult parts of English grammar clear to you – and there are lots of opportunities for you to practice!

Backshift of Verb Tenses in Reported Speech

When we use reported speech, we often change the verb tense backwards in time. This can be called “backshift.”

Here are some examples in different verb tenses:

Reported Speech (Part 1) Quiz

Exceptions to backshift in reported speech.

Now that you know some of the reported speech rules about backshift, let’s learn some exceptions.

There are two situations in which we do NOT need to change the verb tense.

No backshift needed when the situation is still true

For example, if someone says “I have three children” (direct speech) then we would say “He said he has three children” because the situation continues to be true.

If I tell you “I live in the United States” (direct speech) then you could tell someone else “She said she lives in the United States” (that’s reported speech) because it is still true.

When the situation is still true, then we don’t need to backshift the verb.

He said he HAS three children

But when the situation is NOT still true, then we DO need to backshift the verb.

Imagine your friend says, “I have a headache.”

• If you immediately go and talk to another friend, you could say, “She said she has a headache,” because the situation is still true
• If you’re talking about that conversation a month after it happened, then you would say, “She said she had a headache,” because it’s no longer true.

No backshift needed when the situation is still in the future

We also don’t need to backshift to the verb when somebody said something about the future, and the event is still in the future.

Here’s an example:

• On Monday, my friend said, “I ‘ll call you on Friday .”
• “She said she ‘ll call me on Friday”, because Friday is still in the future from now.
• It is also possible to say, “She said she ‘d (she would) call me on Friday.”
• Both of them are correct, so the backshift in this case is optional.

Let’s look at a different situation:

• On Monday, my friend said, “I ‘ll call you on Tuesday .”
• “She said she ‘d  call me on Tuesday.” I must backshift because the event is NOT still in the future.

Review: Reported Speech, Backshift, & Exceptions

Quick review:

• Normally in reported speech we backshift the verb, we put it in a verb tense that’s a little bit further in the past.
• when the situation is still true
• when the situation is still in the future

Reported Requests, Orders, and Questions

Those were the rules for reported statements, just regular sentences.

What about reported speech for questions, requests, and orders?

For reported requests, we use “asked (someone) to do something”:

• “Please make a copy of this report.” (direct speech)
• She asked me to make a copy of the report. (reported speech)

For reported orders, we use “told (someone) to do something:”

• “Go to the bank.” (direct speech)
• “He told me to go to the bank.” (reported speech)

The main verb stays in the infinitive with “to”:

• She asked me to make a copy of the report. She asked me  make  a copy of the report.
• He told me to go to the bank. He told me  go  to the bank.

For yes/no questions, we use “asked if” and “wanted to know if” in reported speech.

• “Are you coming to the party?” (direct)
• He asked if I was coming to the party. (reported)
• “Did you turn off the TV?” (direct)
• She wanted to know if I had turned off the TV.” (reported)

The main verb changes and back shifts according to the rules and exceptions we learned earlier.

Notice that we don’t use do/does/did in the reported question:

• She wanted to know did I turn off the TV.
• She wanted to know if I had turned off the TV.

For other questions that are not yes/no questions, we use asked/wanted to know (without “if”):

• “When was the company founded?” (direct)
• She asked when the company was founded.” (reported)
• “What kind of car do you drive?” (direct)
• He wanted to know what kind of car I drive. (reported)

Again, notice that we don’t use do/does/did in reported questions:

• “Where does he work?”
• She wanted to know  where does he work.
• She wanted to know where he works.

Also, in questions with the verb “to be,” the word order changes in the reported question:

• “Where were you born?” ([to be] + subject)
• He asked where I was born. (subject + [to be])
• He asked where was I born.

Reported Speech (Part 2) Quiz

Learn more about reported speech:

• Reported speech: Perfect English Grammar
• Reported speech: BJYU’s

If you want to take your English grammar to the next level, then my Advanced English Grammar Course is for you! It will help you master the details of the English language, with clear explanations of essential grammar topics, and lots of practice. I hope to see you inside!

I’ve got one last little exercise for you, and that is to write sentences using reported speech. Think about a conversation you’ve had in the past, and write about it – let’s see you put this into practice right away.

Master the details of English grammar:

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Reported speech - indirect speech

• English year 1
• English year 2
• English year 3
• English year 4
• You are learning...
• Reported Speech
• 01 Reported Speech rules
• 02 Pronouns change
• 03 Pronouns change
• 04 Change place and time
• 05 Simple Present
• 06 Introduction Simple Pres.
• 07 Backshift
• 08 Backshift Tenses
• 09 Simple Past negative
• 10 Simple Past negative
• 11 Questions
• 12 Questions
• 13 Past - Past Perfect
• 14 Past - Past Perfect
• 15 Past Perfect negative
• 16 Past Perfect negative
• 17 with-out question word
• 18 with-out question word
• 19 Perfect Past Perfect
• 20 Perfect - Past Perfect
• 21 Perfect - Past Perfect
• 22 Perfect - Past Perfect
• 23 Questions without qw.
• 24 Questions with qw.
• 25 will - would
• 26 Will-Future
• 27 Will-Future negative
• 28 Will-Future negatives
• 29 Will-Future Questions
• 30 Will-Future will - would
• 31 Commands
• 32 Commands Reported
• 33 Commands negative
• 34 Commands negative
• 35 Mixed exercises
• 37 Questions all tenses
• 38 Questions all tenses
• 39 Commands all tenses
• 40 Commands all tenses
• 41 all forms all tenses
• 42 all forms all tenses
• 43 Change place and time
• 44 Change place and time
• 45 Test Reported Speech
• English Tenses
• Simple Present Tense
• Simple past Tense
• Present perfect
• Past Perfect
• Simple Future
• Future Perfect
• Going-to-Future
• Continuous Tenses
• Present Continuous
• Past Continuous
• Present perfect Progr.
• Past Perfect Continuous
• Simple Future Continuous
• Future 2 Continuous
• Comparison of Tenses
• Passive exercises
• If clauses - Conditional

Reported speech will future questions

Change of tenses.

The tenses , word-order, pronouns may be different from those in the direct speech sentence. The Past Perfect Tense does not change in the Reported Speech.

English Reported speech exercises

Reported speech - indirect speech with free online exercises, Reported speech - indirect speech examples and sentences. Online exercises Reported speech - indirect speech, questions and negative sentences.

Online exercises English grammar and courses Free tutorial Reported speech - indirect speech with exercises. English grammar easy to learn.

Reported Speech in English Grammar

Direct speech, changing the tense (backshift), no change of tenses, question sentences, demands/requests, expressions with who/what/how + infinitive, typical changes of time and place.

• Lingolia Plus English

Introduction

In English grammar, we use reported speech to say what another person has said. We can use their exact words with quotation marks , this is known as direct speech , or we can use indirect speech . In indirect speech , we change the tense and pronouns to show that some time has passed. Indirect speech is often introduced by a reporting verb or phrase such as ones below.

Learn the rules for writing indirect speech in English with Lingolia’s simple explanation. In the exercises, you can test your grammar skills.

When turning direct speech into indirect speech, we need to pay attention to the following points:

• changing the pronouns Example: He said, “ I saw a famous TV presenter.” He said (that) he had seen a famous TV presenter.
• changing the information about time and place (see the table at the end of this page) Example: He said, “I saw a famous TV presenter here yesterday .” He said (that) he had seen a famous TV presenter there the day before .
• changing the tense (backshift) Example: He said, “She was eating an ice-cream at the table where you are sitting .” He said (that) she had been eating an ice-cream at the table where I was sitting .

If the introductory clause is in the simple past (e.g. He said ), the tense has to be set back by one degree (see the table). The term for this in English is backshift .

The verbs could, should, would, might, must, needn’t, ought to, used to normally do not change.

If the introductory clause is in the simple present , however (e.g. He says ), then the tense remains unchanged, because the introductory clause already indicates that the statement is being immediately repeated (and not at a later point in time).

In some cases, however, we have to change the verb form.

When turning questions into indirect speech, we have to pay attention to the following points:

• As in a declarative sentence, we have to change the pronouns, the time and place information, and set the tense back ( backshift ).
• Instead of that , we use a question word. If there is no question word, we use whether / if instead. Example: She asked him, “ How often do you work?” → She asked him how often he worked. He asked me, “Do you know any famous people?” → He asked me if/whether I knew any famous people.
• We put the subject before the verb in question sentences. (The subject goes after the auxiliary verb in normal questions.) Example: I asked him, “ Have you met any famous people before?” → I asked him if/whether he had met any famous people before.
• We don’t use the auxiliary verb do for questions in indirect speech. Therefore, we sometimes have to conjugate the main verb (for third person singular or in the simple past ). Example: I asked him, “What do you want to tell me?” → I asked him what he wanted to tell me.
• We put the verb directly after who or what in subject questions. Example: I asked him, “ Who is sitting here?” → I asked him who was sitting there.

We don’t just use indirect questions to report what another person has asked. We also use them to ask questions in a very polite manner.

When turning demands and requests into indirect speech, we only need to change the pronouns and the time and place information. We don’t have to pay attention to the tenses – we simply use an infinitive .

If it is a negative demand, then in indirect speech we use not + infinitive .

To express what someone should or can do in reported speech, we leave out the subject and the modal verb and instead we use the construction who/what/where/how + infinitive.

Say or Tell?

The words say and tell are not interchangeable. say = say something tell = say something to someone

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• B1-B2 grammar

Reported speech: reporting verbs

Do you know how to tell someone what another person said using reporting verbs? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how reporting verbs are used.

direct speech: 'You should come, it's going to be a lot of fun,' she said. indirect speech: She persuaded me to come. direct speech: 'Wait here,' he said. indirect speech: He told us to wait there. direct speech: 'It wasn't me who finished the coffee,' he said. indirect speech: He denied finishing the coffee.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Reported speech 3 – reporting verbs: 1

Grammar explanation

When we tell someone what another person said, we often use the verbs say , tell or ask . These are called 'reporting verbs'. However, we can also use other reporting verbs. Many reporting verbs can be followed by another verb in either an infinitive or an -ing form. 

Reporting verb + infinitive

Verbs like advise , agree , challenge , claim , decide , demand , encourage , invite , offer , persuade , promise , refuse and remind can follow an infinitive pattern.

'Let's see. I'll have the risotto, please.' He decided to have the risotto. 'I'll do the report by Friday, for sure.' She promised to do the report by Friday. 'It's not a good idea to write your passwords down.' They advised us not to write our passwords down.

We can also use an infinitive to report imperatives, with a reporting verb like tell , order , instruct , direct or warn .

'Please wait for me in reception.' The guide told us to wait for her in reception. 'Don't go in there!' The police officer warned us not to go in there.

Reporting verb + -ing form

Verbs like admit , apologise for , complain about , deny , insist on , mention and suggest can follow an -ing form pattern.

'I broke the window.' She admitted breaking the window. 'I'm really sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.' He apologised for not getting back to me sooner. 'Let's take a break.' She suggested taking a break.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Reported speech 3 – reporting verbs: 2

Language level

Would you consider the following structure to be reported speech?

The original sentence went as follows:

- After the procedure the doctors confirmed it was the right thing to have done.

Why am I asking? As far as I know the top notch phrasing should go like this:

- After the procedure the doctors confirmed it HAD BEEN the right thing to have done.

I think so because at that time the doctors must have said something like:

- Doctors confirming after the procedure - It was the right thing to have done, Dominik.

Would you be so kind to comment on this one, please :)

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Hello Dominik992,

The version that you propose is correct, and, as you mention, is what is taught as best practice in most grammars.

The other version is also fine, however. Especially in more informal speaking and writing, we often use a past simple form when a past perfect form doesn't add any additional or important meaning.

Best wishes, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Hello! I would like to know whether this two sentences are correct. I think they are both correct, but I am not sure.

"He apologized for letting me down." Or: "He apologized for having let me down"

Thank you in advance! GabDip

Hello GabDip,

Yes, both sentences are correct. There is a slight difference in meaning:

Sentence 1 ( for letting ) could be about a particular situation or it could be about his general habit of being unreliable.

Sentence 2 ( for having let ) describes an issue in the past which is not true any more.

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, i have 2 questions, firstly is the same use advise with verb + object + infinitive that use it with + gerund, it changes the meaning or no? secondly, when we use warn + object + infinitive it has the same meaning that warn somebody against?

Hi facundo62,

For  advise , the meaning is the same with those two structures. For example:

• I'd advise resting as much as you can.
• I'd advise you to rest as much as you can.

However, the structure  advise  + - ing form is less commonly used than the advise + object + to + infinitive structure. 

About  warn , the two structures you mentioned do also have the same meaning. But just to be clear, it's  warn  + object + not + to  + infinitive that has that meaning. For example:

• The doctor warned me not to eat too much.
• The doctor warned me against eating too much.

I hope that helps.

LearnEnglish team

what is the diffrence beetween he suggested to ask andi for some ideas and he suggested asking andi for ideas

"He suggested to ask ..." is not grammatically correct. 

The verb "suggest" is followed by either:

• an - ing  verb form -->  He suggested asking ...  OR
• a  that  clause -->  He suggested  that we ask   ...

"Suggest" is not in the group of verbs that is followed by an infinitive ( to  + verb).

it helped alot thanks

Why can't we say "Katie suggested us going for a walk" but instead should say "KATIE SUGGESTED THAT WE GO FOR A WALK" whilst "The man warned us not to park in this street" is correct. It's unclear why "She suggested us" isn't correct but "The man warned us...." is.

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Reported speech: indirect speech

Indirect speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words. In indirect speech , the structure of the reported clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a statement, a question or a command.

Indirect speech: reporting statements

Indirect reports of statements consist of a reporting clause and a that -clause. We often omit that , especially in informal situations:

The pilot commented that the weather had been extremely bad as the plane came in to land. (The pilot’s words were: ‘The weather was extremely bad as the plane came in to land.’ )

I told my wife I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday. ( that -clause without that ) (or I told my wife that I didn’t want a party on my 50th birthday .)

Indirect speech: reporting questions

Reporting yes-no questions and alternative questions.

Indirect reports of yes-no questions and questions with or consist of a reporting clause and a reported clause introduced by if or whether . If is more common than whether . The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:

She asked if [S] [V] I was Scottish. (original yes-no question: ‘Are you Scottish?’ )

The waiter asked whether [S] we [V] wanted a table near the window. (original yes-no question: ‘Do you want a table near the window? )

He asked me if [S] [V] I had come by train or by bus. (original alternative question: ‘Did you come by train or by bus?’ )

Questions: yes-no questions ( Are you feeling cold? )

Reporting wh -questions

Indirect reports of wh -questions consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a wh -word ( who, what, when, where, why, how ). We don’t use a question mark:

He asked me what I wanted.

Not: He asked me what I wanted?

The reported clause is in statement form (subject + verb), not question form:

She wanted to know who [S] we [V] had invited to the party.

Not: … who had we invited …

Who , whom and what

In indirect questions with who, whom and what , the wh- word may be the subject or the object of the reported clause:

I asked them who came to meet them at the airport. ( who is the subject of came ; original question: ‘Who came to meet you at the airport?’ )

He wondered what the repairs would cost. ( what is the object of cost ; original question: ‘What will the repairs cost?’ )

She asked us what [S] we [V] were doing . (original question: ‘What are you doing?’ )

Not: She asked us what were we doing?

When , where , why and how

We also use statement word order (subject + verb) with when , where, why and how :

I asked her when [S] it [V] had happened (original question: ‘When did it happen?’ ).

Not: I asked her when had it happened?

I asked her where [S] the bus station [V] was . (original question: ‘Where is the bus station?’ )

Not: I asked her where was the bus station?

The teacher asked them how [S] they [V] wanted to do the activity . (original question: ‘How do you want to do the activity?’ )

Not: The teacher asked them how did they want to do the activity?

Questions: wh- questions

Indirect speech: reporting commands

Indirect reports of commands consist of a reporting clause, and a reported clause beginning with a to -infinitive:

The General ordered the troops to advance . (original command: ‘Advance!’ )

The chairperson told him to sit down and to stop interrupting . (original command: ‘Sit down and stop interrupting!’ )

We also use a to -infinitive clause in indirect reports with other verbs that mean wanting or getting people to do something, for example, advise, encourage, warn :

They advised me to wait till the following day. (original statement: ‘You should wait till the following day.’ )

The guard warned us not to enter the area. (original statement: ‘You must not enter the area.’ )

Verbs followed by a to -infinitive

Indirect speech: present simple reporting verb

We can use the reporting verb in the present simple in indirect speech if the original words are still true or relevant at the time of reporting, or if the report is of something someone often says or repeats:

Sheila says they’re closing the motorway tomorrow for repairs.

Henry tells me he’s thinking of getting married next year.

Rupert says dogs shouldn’t be allowed on the beach. (Rupert probably often repeats this statement.)

Newspaper headlines

We often use the present simple in newspaper headlines. It makes the reported speech more dramatic:

JUDGE TELLS REPORTER TO LEAVE COURTROOM

PRIME MINISTER SAYS FAMILIES ARE TOP PRIORITY IN TAX REFORM

Present simple ( I work )

Reported speech

Reported speech: direct speech

Indirect speech: past continuous reporting verb

In indirect speech, we can use the past continuous form of the reporting verb (usually say or tell ). This happens mostly in conversation, when the speaker wants to focus on the content of the report, usually because it is interesting news or important information, or because it is a new topic in the conversation:

Rory was telling me the big cinema in James Street is going to close down. Is that true?

Alex was saying that book sales have gone up a lot this year thanks to the Internet.

‘Backshift’ refers to the changes we make to the original verbs in indirect speech because time has passed between the moment of speaking and the time of the report.

In these examples, the present ( am ) has become the past ( was ), the future ( will ) has become the future-in-the-past ( would ) and the past ( happened ) has become the past perfect ( had happened ). The tenses have ‘shifted’ or ‘moved back’ in time.

The past perfect does not shift back; it stays the same:

Modal verbs

Some, but not all, modal verbs ‘shift back’ in time and change in indirect speech.

We can use a perfect form with have + - ed form after modal verbs, especially where the report looks back to a hypothetical event in the past:

He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters. (original statement: ‘The noise might be the postman delivering letters.’ )

He said he would have helped us if we’d needed a volunteer. (original statement: ‘I’ll help you if you need a volunteer’ or ‘I’d help you if you needed a volunteer.’ )

Used to and ought to do not change in indirect speech:

She said she used to live in Oxford. (original statement: ‘I used to live in Oxford.’ )

The guard warned us that we ought to leave immediately. (original statement: ‘You ought to leave immediately.’ )

No backshift

We don’t need to change the tense in indirect speech if what a person said is still true or relevant or has not happened yet. This often happens when someone talks about the future, or when someone uses the present simple, present continuous or present perfect in their original words:

He told me his brother works for an Italian company. (It is still true that his brother works for an Italian company.)

She said she ’s getting married next year. (For the speakers, the time at the moment of speaking is ‘this year’.)

He said he ’s finished painting the door. (He probably said it just a short time ago.)

She promised she ’ll help us. (The promise applies to the future.)

Indirect speech: changes to pronouns

Changes to personal pronouns in indirect reports depend on whether the person reporting the speech and the person(s) who said the original words are the same or different.

Indirect speech: changes to adverbs and demonstratives

We often change demonstratives ( this, that ) and adverbs of time and place ( now, here, today , etc.) because indirect speech happens at a later time than the original speech, and perhaps in a different place.

Typical changes to demonstratives, adverbs and adverbial expressions

Indirect speech: typical errors.

The word order in indirect reports of wh- questions is the same as statement word order (subject + verb), not question word order:

She always asks me where [S] [V] I am going .

Not: She always asks me where am I going .

We don’t use a question mark when reporting wh- questions:

I asked him what he was doing.

Not: I asked him what he was doing?

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• Direct & Indirect Speech

Reported Speech Tenses

Reported speech tenses will change from that of the direct speech in most cases.

This is known as backshifting in reported speech , with the basic rule that a tense is shifted back to its past tense form.

This is because we are usually talking about something in the past. 

You can also watch a video of this lesson:

Backshifting in Reported Speech

Here are some examples of backshifting, with tenses going back from present to past:

Reported Speech Tenses Change Chart

Below is a reported speech tense change chart with the rules for backshifting for each tense and for modal verbs.

You will see reported speech does not go back a tense if it is already in the past perfect (there is no further back it can go), and some modal verbs also do not change. 

If you are tested on this, though, these are the changes you need to make.

Exceptions to the rules

This is a useful starting point. However, it is a simplification as we may not always decide or need to shift the tense back. 

For instance, if the circumstances we are reporting on  have not changed  since they were directly said, then the tense would not need to be changed. For example:

Direct Speech

• I  am  happy 
• (present simple)

Reported Speech

• She said she is happy 

So if we want to convey that the situation is still true then we may keep the tense the same.

Alternatively, the tense could even forward shift. An example would be in relation to a film or book. In this case, the person may use the past tense to say that the film was good, but the present or past tense could be used when you convey that to someone else:

Direct Speech:

• The film  was  really good!
• (past simple)

Reported Speech:

• He said that the film  was  very good!
• (past simple) Or
• He said that the film  is  very good!

As you can see, either reported speech tenses would be ok if you wanted to pass the information on to somebody else. The person said the film was good, and it is still good (it hasn't gone away).

So there are some general rules for reported speech tense changes but it can depend on the context. There may be no need to change it or you may be able to choose either tense.

Click the ' reported speech: practice forming indirect speech ' link below to practice changing tenses. 

More on Reported Speech:

Reported Speech Imperatives: Reporting commands in indirect speech

Reported speech imperatives, also known as reported commands, follow a slightly different structure to normal indirect speech. We use imperatives to give orders, advice, or make requests.

Direct and Indirect Speech: The differences explained

Direct and indirect speech are different because in direct speech the exact words said are spoken, but in indirect or reported speech, we are reporting what was said, usually using the past tense.

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

In these examples of direct and indirect speech you are given a sentence in direct speech which is then connected to indirect speech.

Reported Speech Quiz - Practice forming indirect speech

This reported speech quiz gives you the chance to practice converting direct speech to reported speech, also known as indirect speech. This involves backshifting with the tenses.

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Narration Change in Future Tense

Back to: Direct and Indirect Speech (Narration)

Examples of narration change in simple future tense, future continuous, future perfect and future perfect continuous are given below –

Table of Contents

Direct and Indirect Speech Future Simple Tense Examples

If reported verb is in  Past Tense,  and reported speech is in Future Indefinite Tense, will changes into would & shall changes into should .

Direct and Indirect Speech Future Continuous Tense Examples

If verb is in  Past Tense,  and reported speech is in Future Continuous Tense, will be changes into would be & shall be changes into should be .

Direct and Indirect Speech Future Perfect Tense Examples

If verb is in  Past Tense,  and reported speech is in Future Perfect Tense, will have changes into would have & shall have changes into should have .

Direct and Indirect Speech Future Perfect Continuous Tense Examples

If verb is in  Past Tense,  and reported speech is in Future Perfect Continuous Tense, will have been changes into would have been & shall have been changes into should have been .

Advanced Points

Main clauses connected with and / but.

If two complete main clauses are connected with ‚and‘ or ‚but‘ , put ‚that‘ after the conjunction.

If the subject is left out in the second main clause (the conjunction is followed by a verb), do not use ‚that‘ .

Tense of the Introductory Clause

The introductory clause usually is in Past Tense.

Present Tense is often used to report a conversation that is still going on, e. g. during a phone call or while reading a letter.

The introductory clause can also be in another tense. In the following table you can see, for which tense of the introductory clause you have to use backshift in reported speech.

Backshift in Reported Speech

The basic rules for backshift when transforming direct speech into reported speech are:

Backshift of Simple Present is optional if the situation is still unchanged or if you agree with the original speaker.

Backshift of Simple Past and Past Progressive is optional if they cannot be mistakenly taken for backshift of Present Tense. So backshift is not necessary if there is a time expression indicating past.

Simple Past and Past Progressive do not normally change in sentences with when  / if .

The basic rule for requests is: introductory clause + ‚to‘ + infinite verb.

Advise expressions with must , should and ought are usually reported using advise  / urge .

The expression let’s is usually reported using suggest . In this case, there are various possibilities for reported speech: gerund or statement with should .

Exercises on reported speech

Israel due to get billions of dollars more in US weapons despite Biden pause

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Patricia Zengerle has reported from more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and China. An award-winning Washington-based national security and foreign policy reporter who also has worked as an editor, Patricia has appeared on NPR, C-Span and other programs, spoken at the National Press Club and attended the Hoover Institution Media Roundtable. She is a recipient of the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence.

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Meta's oversight board upheld a decision to remove two Facebook posts calling for Australians to vote multiple times in an indigenous rights referendum, but noted the social media giant had not adequately explained its ban on encouraging voter fraud.

Campus Protests Penn Encampment Expands as Tense U.S.C. Graduation Arrives

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Here’s the latest on campus protests.

Graduates at the University of Southern California are facing a much-altered commencement celebration on Thursday after weeks of turmoil on campus. The private Los Angeles institution, a pillar of the nation’s second-largest city, has faced harsh criticism over its handling of the pro-Palestinian student activism that disrupted its lush quad, as it has on campuses across the country.

An encampment at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia expanded overnight, with protesters moving barriers and pitching tents on a new section of the campus lawn. Student organizers said on social media that they were responding to “the administration’s continued bad-faith negotiations” over demands that the university divest from financial support for Israel.

More than 2,700 people have been arrested since April 18 at demonstrations on American college campuses, according to New York Times tracking data .

At U.S.C., instead of its usual universitywide commencement ceremony, the school has invited this year’s 18,000 graduating students and their families to a hastily arranged party tonight at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Officials are hoping to avoid the divisive displays that have disrupted other graduations across the country.

Here are the details:

The U.S.C. academic senate voted on Wednesday to censure Carol Folt, the school’s president , after several tumultuous weeks in which the administration canceled the valedictory address of a Muslim student, cleared a protest encampment within hours and called in the police to arrest dozens of protesters. Read more about the scrambled graduation plans there .

Police officials at U.S.C.’s crosstown rival, the University of California, Los Angeles, said that dozens of protesters who were arrested this week had tools intended to help occupy a campus building. They included metal pipes, a pair of bolt cutters, super glue, padlocks and a long chain, along with literature including “The Do-It-Yourself Occupation Guide.” Read about their gear.

The campus arrests this week include 33 in the nation’s capital at George Washington University, which happened hours before the mayor of Washington, D.C., was to be called before Congress on Wednesday to answers questions about the handling of the pro-Palestinian encampment there. The hearing was canceled.

Faculty members have established an encampment in the lobby of the New School’s University Center in Manhattan, after a reported vote of no confidence in the school’s president following a police sweep of student encampments last week that resulted in 43 arrests.

At California State University, Sacramento, this week, officials said they had updated campus policies to divest from any financial arrangements that appear to profit from “genocide, ethnic cleansing and activities that violate fundamental human rights.” Like several other deals cut between protesters and administrators seeking to end campus strife, the agreement appeared to be largely symbolic.

— Shawn Hubler ,  Mattathias Schwartz and Julian Roberts-Grmela

In a surprise, Cornell’s president resigns.

Martha E. Pollack, Cornell University’s president for the past seven years, announced in a surprise email on Thursday afternoon that she is resigning.

“I understand that there will be lots of speculation about my decision, so let me be as clear as I can: This decision is mine and mine alone,” she wrote in her email, addressed to “Cornellians.” “After seven fruitful and gratifying years as Cornell’s president — and after a career in research and academia spanning five decades — I’m ready for a new chapter in my life.”

Dr. Pollack, a computer scientist, said she would remain in office until July 1.

In a separate announcement, Kraig H. Kayser, the chairman of Cornell’s board of trustees, said the board had asked the university provost, Michael I. Kotlikoff, to serve as interim president for two years. Dr. Kotlikoff was previously dean of Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine, among other posts.

Dr. Pollack’s resignation means that four of the eight Ivy League universities — Harvard, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell — will now be in various stages of leadership transition, three of them with interim presidents already in charge or presidential searches underway. The presidents of Harvard and Penn resigned in the last six months, in part because of fallout over their testimony at a December congressional hearing investigating campus antisemitism.

Mr. Kayser said that Cornell’s trustees would wait to begin a search for a new permanent president until about six to nine months before the end of Dr. Kotlikoff’s two-year term, an unusually long delay.

Dr. Pollack, 65, leaves at a time of controversy over disciplinary action Cornell has taken against pro-Palestinian student protesters. While Cornell has not summoned outside police forces to its campus in Ithaca, N.Y., it has taken what some professors called draconian measures against six protesters. Critics have found the disciplinary actions particularly disturbing coming in a school year when Dr. Pollack launched a campus free-expression initiative .

Though the students’ protest remained peaceful, the university invoked a provision calling for “immediate temporary suspension,” a measure intended for situations where the safety and health of the community were threatened, according to Risa L. Lieberwitz, a Cornell professor and the campus president of the American Association of University Professors.

“It is not intended to be used where the university is unhappy about the fact that you have an encampment and chanting,” she said.

Professor Lieberwitz called on Dr. Pollack to revoke the students’ suspensions — penalties that could erase their academic credits for the semester — as a parting presidential act that would ease tensions on campus.

Mr. Kayser called Dr. Pollack a “transformational leader” who increased financial aid and created new academic programs at Cornell.

— Stephanie Saul

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U.S.C.’s president is censured by the university’s academic senate.

The University of Southern California’s academic senate voted on Wednesday to censure Carol Folt, the school’s president, after several tumultuous weeks in which the administration canceled the valedictory address of a Muslim student, cleared a protest encampment within hours and called in police last month to arrest dozens of protesters.

The academic senate, which consists primarily of faculty members, also endorsed calls for an investigation into the administration’s actions. Its resolution, which passed by a wide margin after a several hourslong meeting on Wednesday afternoon, cited “widespread dissatisfaction and concern among the faculty” about the decision making of Dr. Folt and Andrew T. Guzman, the provost, who was also censured.

The vote represented only a fraction of the university's 4,700 faculty members, and the senate stopped short of taking a vote of no-confidence in the administrators, which would have been a harsher rebuke. Despite criticism, Dr. Folt has maintained considerable support from the university’s trustees, and some faculty members have quietly sympathized with her.

Still, the vote was “significant” with “far-reaching implications,” said William G. Tierney, a professor emeritus of higher education at U.S.C., who has written about the response to campus protests across the nation.

“The petition from the faculty was thoughtful and the discussion was serious,” said Dr. Tierney, a past president of the senate who has criticized Dr. Folt’s handling of the protest and who confirmed the vote. “No faculty wants to rebuke their president and provost. But this was warranted.”

Christina Dunbar-Hester, the acting president of the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, who watched the meeting, said that faculty members have been particularly frustrated by a lack of communication from administrators and the speed with which the Los Angeles Police Department was called on protesters who were not violent.

“The administrators keep leaning on ‘safety’ without consulting or sharing their thinking with the Senate or wider faculty,” she said. “We do not necessarily doubt that there were safety concerns, but some question whether this series of decisions harmed and endangered members of the campus community while also sending a message to anyone threatening the campus that those threats work.”

The recent disruptions have once again put the university, in South Los Angeles, under an unflattering spotlight.

Dr. Folt’s hiring in 2019 was hailed as a kind of fresh start following a series of highly publicized missteps, which included playing a central part in the “Varsity Blues” admissions scandal. The past several years have largely been a period of calm for U.S.C.

Several top university officials said last week that many members of the faculty and board had understood the difficulty Dr. Folt faced in handling the protests. And many in the broader community noted that U.S.C.’s experience was relatively mild compared to the violence that rocked the University of California, Los Angeles, campus as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters clashed recently.

But many parents and students were distressed at the cancellation of the school’s main commencement ceremony, and angry at the high security accompanying what remained this week of the celebration.

On Wednesday evening, Dr. Folt said in a statement that she would work with faculty members going forward, and that she and Dr. Guzman welcomed engagement with a task force being created to investigate the decisions made by administrators.

“I understand there are many different viewpoints among members of the Trojan Community regarding our recent decisions,” she said. “I’m committed to working with the academic senate, and the wider faculty who weren’t present at today’s session.”

Then, alluding to graduation ceremonies that have been cut back , with tight security and the loss of celebrity speakers, Dr. Folt said, “For now, our focus is on celebrating the 19,000 graduates of USC’s Class of 2024.”

Jonathan Wolfe contributed reporting from Los Angeles.

— Shawn Hubler ,  Stephanie Saul and Jill Cowan Shawn Hubler and Jill Cowan reported from Los Angeles, and Stephanie Saul from New York.

Police officials say that U.C.L.A. protesters had metal pipes, bolt cutters and an occupation manual.

Police officials at the University of California, Los Angeles, said on Wednesday that the dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters who were arrested in a parking garage on campus earlier this week had tools and other items that were intended to help occupy a campus building.

Members of the group had several metal pipes, a pair of bolt cutters, super glue, padlocks and a long chain, according to a statement from the U.C.L.A. Police Department. They also had literature that included “The Do-It-Yourself Occupation Guide” and the “De-Arrest Primer.”

Police officers initially arrested 44 people and charged most of them with conspiracy to commit a crime, according to the statement. Two local journalists were among those detained, but they were released without charges after being taken to a Los Angeles Police Department jail. The police said they did not have press credentials. A third person was also released without charges.

Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, a freelance journalist who has been covering the U.C.L.A. protests, was one of the two journalists arrested. He said he stumbled across the students in the parking lot after they were detained and began filming. His arrest “came out of nowhere,” he said.

“The idea that someone who quite clearly was just there to film, being guilty of a conspiracy, is absolutely cuckoo bananas,” he added.

Of those arrested, 35 were U.C.L.A. students, the police said. Four of the people arrested on Monday had also been arrested on May 2 when the police shut down a pro-Palestinian encampment at the campus. The 41 who face charges were released after being booked and cited, the police said.

The pro-Palestinian protesters who led the encampment at U.C.L.A. were unavailable for comment on Wednesday. In a statement after the arrests on Monday, the U.C.L.A. Palestine Solidarity Encampment said, “These unlawful arrests constitute harassment and abuse of power by law enforcement, and serve solely as an intimidation tactic.”

“The Do-It Yourself Occupation Guide” contains techniques for circumventing alarm systems, breaking into buildings and securing doors. The original manual, which was written more than a decade ago, was updated this year “in light of a nationwide resurgence of student occupations in 2024, beginning with Columbia University in New York, in response to an ongoing genocide in Palestine,” according to an editor’s note.

The U.C.L.A. Police Department said that as the 44 individuals were detained, a demonstration was occurring inside Moore Hall, a campus building that students were being encouraged on social media to occupy. The police said that it “became apparent” that the arrested protesters were planning to use their supplies to take over Moore Hall.

Another guide taken as evidence during the mass arrest was “Fight to Win: Protest Tactics and Staying Safe.” It describes police formations and contains advice on how to remain safe during a protest. It also has sections on protest tools like umbrellas and fire extinguishers, both of which were used by protesters last week at U.C.L.A. when the police raided their encampment.

While many of the pro-Palestinian encampments at colleges have been established in central quads or campus lawns, some demonstrators have gone further by taking over buildings and vandalizing property. The police last week quickly shut down a takeover of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York, and law enforcement officers also ended a weeklong occupation of the administration building at the California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt.

U.C.L.A. administrators originally took a relatively tolerant approach to the encampment at their school, even as protesters were arrested within hours at some universities, including the University of Southern California. But after several days, the school chancellor, Gene Block, declared the encampment illegal on April 30 and told demonstrators to leave.

Later that night, counterprotesters attacked the demonstration site, and some beat pro-Palestinian protesters with sticks, used chemical sprays and launched fireworks as weapons. The police and security guards did not break up the melee for hours, and have not made any arrests. On the early morning of May 2, the police broke up the encampment and arrested more than 200 protesters.

— Jonathan Wolfe Reporting from Los Angeles

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will meet with British university leaders to urge them to fight antisemitism.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain will tell university leaders on Thursday to do more to combat antisemitism on college campuses, in a sign of rising dissatisfaction within government about the recent growth of encampments set up by students protesting the war in Gaza.

Vice chancellors from some of Britain’s prominent universities have been invited to Downing Street to discuss “escalating antisemitic abuse toward Jewish students in the U.K.,” Mr. Sunak’s office said in a statement issued in advance of the meeting.

Britain has so far not seen the sort of unrest witnessed on American campuses . But small-scale, largely peaceful protest encampments have sprung up recently around several universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester.

“Universities should be places of rigorous debate but also bastions of tolerance and respect for every member of their community,” Mr. Sunak said in the statement released by his office ahead of the meeting. “A vocal minority on our campuses are disrupting the lives and studies of their fellow students and, in some cases, propagating outright harassment and antisemitic abuse. That has to stop.”

The prime minister’s office did not mention specific encampments in its statement, but it cited the concerns of the Union of Jewish Students, which says it represents 9,000 Jewish students across Britain and Ireland. The organization said recently that “while students have a right to protest, these encampments create a hostile and toxic atmosphere on campus for Jewish students.”

Downing Street also cited data from a charity that aims to protect British Jews from antisemitism, the Community Security Trust, which in 2023 recorded 182 college-related antisemitic incidents , triple the number recorded in 2022. Tell Mama, a government-funded group that monitors Islamophobic incidents and supports victims, said it has also noted a recent rise in anti-Muslim incidents on campuses.

While British police so far have not intervened significantly to break up student protests, they have been on the front line during large-scale pro-Gaza demonstrations, particularly in London.

Last year, Mr. Sunak and the former home secretary, Suella Braverman, urged the police to ban one march, which ultimately went ahead. Ms. Braverman was then fired after she described the tens of thousands of people who attended regular Saturday protests in London in support of Palestinians as “hate marchers,” “Islamists” and “mobs,” despite the fact that the demonstrations had mostly been peaceful.

On Thursday, the government plans to make it clear that universities must take immediate disciplinary action if any student is found to be inciting racial hatred or violence, and must contact the police if they believe a criminal act has been committed, Downing Street said.

The talks will also aim to help shape new official guidance on combating antisemitism on campus. The government says that the Office for Students, a regulator for higher education, might also be given the power to impose penalties if there were clear evidence that universities were failing to take sufficient or appropriate action to tackle harassment, including antisemitic abuse.

Gavriel Sacks, co-president of the Cambridge University Jewish Society, said in a phone interview that the group had stepped up its support for students by offering mental health events and movie nights.

Mr. Sacks, 20, said that anxiety at Cambridge had increased among some Jewish students in recent months, and especially so in the past week, after the establishment of an encampment on Monday.

But the encampment and the protests themselves had been “mostly peaceful,” he said, and though people had reasons to be anxious, he said he still felt safe and secure on campus.

“We don’t want to overplay it or make people more anxious,” he said.

Mr. Sacks said that he had been told about a few antisemitic comments made to identifiably Jewish people at rallies. Two Jewish students who were on their way to morning prayers on Tuesday were called “pigs,” he said.

“We do believe it represents the minority,” he said of the antisemitic rhetoric. Still, he said, there were concerns.

Groups representing Jewish students at Cambridge and other campuses have also been among those supporting pro-Palestinian encampments, however. The SOAS Jewish Society at SOAS University of London, for example, said on social media that it stood “shoulder to shoulder” with classmates who set up an encampment on Monday.

“We will not stand by as the media cynically employs fake concern for Jewish safety to demonize our cause,” the group said.

Professor Deborah Prentice, the vice chancellor of Cambridge, said in a statement that the university was “fully committed to freedom of speech within the law, and the right to protest.” She added that the university’s priority remained “the safety of our staff and students. We will not tolerate antisemitism, Islamophobia, or any other form of racial or religious hatred in our community.”

— Stephen Castle and Isabella Kwai Reporting from London

The Washington police broke up a protest encampment, sparing the mayor a House grilling.

Police use pepper spray on protesters on g.w.u.’s campus, police officers arrested 33 pro-palestinian protesters and cleared a tent encampment on the campus of george washingon university..

“The Metropolitan Police Department. If you are currently on George Washington University property, you are in violation of D.C. Code 22-3302, unlawful entry on property.” “Back up, dude, back up. You’re going to get locked up tonight — back up.” “Free, free Palestine.” “What the [expletive] are you doing?” [expletives] “I can’t stop — [expletives].”

Another House panel was scheduled to question the mayor of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday over the city’s handling of a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at George Washington University. But the police moved in overnight to break up the encampment, and that hearing was called off.

Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department said at a news conference Wednesday morning that while the campus protest had begun peacefully on April 26, there had been a recent “escalation in the volatility” that warranted dispersing the protest.

Asked about the timing of the operation, only a few hours before the scheduled hearing, Chief Smith said that the decision to clear the camp was made on Monday “based on public safety.”

Mayor Muriel Bowser said at the news conference that she had spoken with Representative James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, who had scheduled the hearing about the city’s response to the encampment, and said she believed the hearing would be canceled, which it was.

The mayor defended the city’s actions, saying that the police had “maintained a presence” at the university throughout the protests and that the city had “demonstrated and upheld our values and constitutional responsibilities.”

Chief Smith said the trouble that led to the clearance began last Thursday when a campus police officer “was pushed by protesters, and an item was grabbed out of the police officer’s hand.” On Monday, she continued, police learned of a “simple assault” that had been reported to campus police, as well as indications that counterprotesters were “covertly in the encampment,” that protesters were studying ways to get inside campus buildings, and that items were being gathered at the camp “that could potentially be used for offensive and defensive weapons.”

As police cleared the encampment, she said, more protesters arrived from outside the area and “engaged the officers,” leading the police to use pepper spray, Chief Smith said. Thirty-three people were arrested, 29 of them for unlawful entry to the campus, she said, adding that several people were also arrested on charges of assault on a police officer. No one was seriously injured, she said.

Police officials said they were still on campus while the university cleared away tents and other items left behind by protesters.

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of a summary with this article misspelled the mayor of Washington’s surname. She is Muriel Bowser, not Bowers.

How we handle corrections

— Campbell Robertson

Maintenance workers offer an inside look at the student takeover of Columbia’s Hamilton Hall.

Mariano Torres, a maintenance worker at Columbia University, was cleaning on the third floor of Hamilton Hall in his signature Yankees cap one night last week, when he heard a commotion downstairs. He said he figured it had something to do with the pro-Palestinian encampment on the lawn outside and kept working.

He was shocked, he said, when he suddenly saw five or six protesters, their faces covered by scarves or masks, picking up chairs and bringing them into the stairway.

“I’m like, what the hell is going on? Put it back. What are you doing?” he recalled.

He said he tried to block them and they tried to reason with him to get out of the way, telling him “this is bigger than you.” One person, he recalled, told him he didn’t get paid enough to deal with this. Someone tried to offer him “a fistful of cash.”

He said he replied: “I don’t want your money, dude. Just get out of the building.”

It was the beginning of what would be a frightening time for Mr. Torres, who goes by Mario, and two other maintenance workers in Hamilton Hall, who were inside when pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia took over the building.

Just as upsetting as their encounters with the protesters, the three workers recounted in interviews this week, was their feeling that the university had not done enough to prevent the attack or to help them once the building was under siege.

“I cannot believe they let this happen,” Mr. Torres said.

Only one security guard was posted at the building when the demonstrators entered, despite heightened tensions from the growing encampment nearby, witnesses said.

Mr. Torres and his colleagues called for help from the police and the school’s public safety officers, but no one arrived in time to assist them. The university eventually asked the police to clear the building and other protesters around campus, but they did not come until nearly 20 hours later.

That meant the workers, who were briefly trapped inside, had to make their own way out.

“They failed to protect us,” said Mr. Torres, 45, whose scuffle with a male protester was captured by a freelance photojournalist inside the building. The image, showing Mr. Torres pushing a man against a wall, ricocheted around social media.

When the police eventually raided the building, nearly 50 people were arrested, according to prosecutors. Many of them were students at Columbia or its affiliated colleges, but a New York Times review of police records found that nine appeared to be unaffiliated with the university.

The union that represents the workers, Local 241 of the Transport Workers Union, has requested more information from Columbia about what the police had told the school before the occupation.

John Samuelsen, the international president of the union, wrote Monday to Nemat Shafik, the president of Columbia, saying she had “epically failed to protect the safety of these university employees, who were forced to fight their way out of the building.”

Mr. Samuelsen added that though Columbia had briefings with the police about the possibility that the protests could escalate, “they conveyed none of that information to the union.”

In a statement, Samantha Slater, a university spokeswoman, said that the “employees who were in Hamilton Hall are valued members of the Columbia community, and we appreciate their dedication and service.”

“When protesters chose to escalate the situation by occupying Hamilton Hall, they committed egregious violations of both University policy and the law, which is why we made the decision to bring in the N.Y.P.D.,” she said. “We are committed to ongoing work to help our entire University community heal.”

On April 30, at about 12:30 a.m., a crowd of students had surrounded Hamilton Hall, cheering, as dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators entered. The building, on Columbia’s central Morningside Heights campus, has symbolic significance as a place of student protest and had been occupied five times by student protesters since 1968.

For months, pro-Palestinian students had protested to urge the university to divest from Israel, among other demands, over the country’s offensive in Gaza, eventually setting up a tent encampment. But the takeover of Hamilton Hall was a marked escalation.

Dr. Shafik, who also goes by Minouche, wrote in a letter to the police that before protesters entered the hall, “an individual hid in the building until after it closed and let the other individuals in.”

Mr. Torres was not surprised: He said he had caught a woman hiding under tables or behind doors “three or four times” over the last several weeks. And five days before the occupation, Lester Wilson, another longtime facilities worker in the building, had opened the door to a third floor closet just before midnight and found a surprise.

He said a woman was crouching in the slop sink, hiding and holding the door shut. Mr. Wilson said he brought her to university safety officers, and was not sure what happened next.

Both Mr. Torres and Mr. Wilson said they believed the occupiers had been highly organized, with knowledge of the location of the security cameras and exits, and backpacks full of supplies like rope, chains and zip ties.

The sole public safety officer in the lobby left when confronted by the occupiers and called for backup, several witness said. The protesters then quickly began barricading the main doors with furniture and chains. The occupiers appear to have timed their break-in with the midnight shift change, and the woman on duty was coming off her shift, the union said.

Mr. Torres, who had worked there for five years, confronted some of the protesters, trying to protect what he saw as “his building.”

But as he saw the number of protesters grow to “maybe 15 or 20,” he said, he realized he could not fight them. He asked to be let out, but someone said the doors downstairs were already barricaded and that he couldn’t leave.

He thought of his two young sons at home. He had no idea if other buildings were being taken over, too. Fear made him “crazy,” he said. He grabbed an older protester and ripped off his sweatshirt and mask, demanding to be let out.

The man said he could bring 20 people up to back him. “I was terrified,” Mr. Torres said. “I did what I had to do.” Mr. Torres then grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and pulled the pin before someone persuaded him to calm down.

Mr. Wilson, 47, saw Mr. Torres facing off with protesters in the stairwell. He radioed his supervisors for help. Then he made his way down to the main doors. They were fastened shut with zip ties.

“So I begged them,” Mr. Wilson said. “I said, I work here, let me out, let me out.” Eventually, someone cut the zip ties and pushed him outside, he said, then secured the doors again. He found the public safety officer and told her that his co-workers were stuck inside.

“God knows what could have happened,” he said.

At about 1:10 a.m., roughly 30 minutes after Mr. Torres first encountered the protesters, a student protester in the lobby finally cut the cluster of zip ties on the front door handle and let him out along with the third worker, who spoke with The Times but asked not to be identified because he was concerned about privacy.

Mr. Torres filed a university accident report that day showing a raw wound on his knuckles and stating he had bruises on his neck. It also stated that he had been “assaulted and battered, and wrongfully imprisoned.”

“I had no protection whatsoever from campus police or N.Y.P.D. and felt abandoned by those whose duty it is to protect me,” he wrote in a document shared with The New York Times.

Alex Molina, the president of the local union chapter, which represents both the facilities workers and the security guards, said that the guard on duty was not allowed to detain anyone and was unarmed.

Both Mr. Torres and Mr. Wilson said they strongly objected to the tactics of the occupiers, which they said had taken a toll on them. Neither man ever wants to work in Hamilton Hall again.

“What do you accomplish from that?” Mr. Wilson said. “You’re giving people traumatic episodes over this stuff. I understand your protest, but why you got to take over a building? Why you got to take workers against their will?”

— Sharon Otterman

U.S.C.’s graduation is in shambles.

Few West Coast universities rival the pomp of the University of Southern California’s commencements. Flags fly. Trumpets blare. Tens of thousands of relatives from around the world fill the Los Angeles campus, cheering for newly minted alumni. There are catered luncheons under chandeliers and Very Important Speakers: Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, took the stage last year to the “Avengers” theme song before delivering the commencement address .

This week, however, the pageantry has been sorely tested, barraged by weeks of campus protest and controversy. The Class of 2024 will have no grand main-stage commencement, no Hollywood executive dispensing wisdom to graduates from across the university.

While smaller celebrations will go on at the university’s 23 schools and academic units, at least two keynote speakers have publicly withdrawn from the school of education’s commencement, and others have quietly pulled out at the last minute.

The school of dramatic arts confirmed Monday that Liza Colón-Zayas, who plays Tina on the FX series “The Bear,” “is no longer able to join us.” The actor Jaren Lewison, of the Netflix series “Never Have I Ever,” withdrew this week from his commitment to address thousands of graduates at two large commencements for the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the school confirmed Wednesday. Two of three speakers at the engineering school’s ceremony disappeared abruptly from the school’s graduation website.

The verdant campus — ordinarily covered with rows of folding chairs at this time of year, as if for a mass wedding — has been closed to noncredentialed visitors behind a system of T.S.A.-like checkpoints. Movement will be tightly controlled at commencement. Families of graduates will need special digital tickets to move among venues. Bags will be searched and banners, beach umbrellas, selfie sticks and other equipment that might be repurposed for political protest will be confiscated.

A hastily arranged party at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will offer some semblance of the usual grandeur, but just how many of the 18,000 graduates and their relatives will attend the weeknight event is unclear.

“Some of my friends say they’re just going to go and boo the administration,” said Ella Blain, 23, who blamed senior university leaders for upending her graduation from the School of Dramatic Arts. A self-described “fourth-generation Trojan” from Pasadena, Ms. Blain, who has spent much of her life imagining her own U.S.C. commencement, called this year’s graduation “a joke.”

As student protests over Israel’s war in Gaza collide with commencements around the country, universities are scrambling to preserve some shred of the time-honored rite of passage. In this globally conflicted moment, that aspiration is turning out to be a tall order: a ceremony that somehow honors a sea of capped-and-gowned young people and thousands of their loved ones without violating free speech, stifling jubilation or enabling rogue protests.

At some schools, that challenge has been daunting. Last weekend, demonstrators disrupted ceremonies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Indiana University at Bloomington and Northeastern University in Boston.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, dropped out as the University of Vermont’s commencement speaker under pressure from student groups that objected to the Biden administration’s support of Israel. Arizona’s public universities ramped up security and barricaded fields in advance of this week’s ceremonies. On Monday, Columbia University canceled its main commencement ceremony , leaving only smaller, individual school events.

At U.S.C., where commencement ceremonies are set to begin on Wednesday, university leaders are straining to hold the school’s renowned graduation together amid backlash to a series of moves that were aimed, paradoxically, at heading off potential conflict and unrest.

In mid-April, U.S.C. canceled the speech by its valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, after pro-Israel groups complained about a pro-Palestinian link on her social media bio. Four days later, the university announced that it was “redesigning the commencement” and canceled its keynote speech by an alumnus, Jon M. Chu, the director of “Crazy Rich Asians.”

“The provost at U.S.C. called me at work,” said Marcia McNutt, the president of the National Academy of Sciences, who had been slated to receive an honorary degree. “They just said that, given all the turmoil, they thought it was best to postpone the honorary degrees, and I said I completely agreed.”

The decision only escalated the uproar. Pro-Palestinian students tried to set up an encampment on campus days later, and university officials summoned the Los Angeles police. The ensuing demonstration ended in the arrest of 93 people, of whom more than a third were unaffiliated with the campus. The university announced the next day that it was canceling its main commencement entirely.

Since then, U.S.C. has struggled to manage the fallout.

“This has just been a train wreck,” said Ms. Blain’s mother, Annette Ricchiazzi, 52, a U.S.C. alumna and former university employee, referring to the university leadership’s “inconsistent and confusing” handling of the cancellations and protests. “Many parents are disgusted and up in arms.”

In messages to the campus, President Carol Folt has underscored the university’s respect for free speech and its responsibility to protect students. Missives have alternately announced that protesters would be referred for disciplinary action and that plans for some 47 satellite commencement ceremonies are “in full swing.”

And normalcy has prevailed, in some corners of the 47,000-student campus.

A representative of the actor Sean Penn — known for his progressive stances on international issues — confirmed that he remained on track to address graduates of the pharmacy school, which worked with Community Organized Relief Effort, a nonprofit that he co-founded, to distribute Covid-19 vaccinations at Dodger Stadium during the pandemic.

Justice Goodwin Liu of the California Supreme Court, who is one of the state’s best-known liberal jurists, remained committed to delivering the keynote address at the law school, according to Merrill Balassone, a spokeswoman.

Phil Chan, co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface, an organization that pushes to eliminate demeaning depictions of Asians in ballet, said that he would keep his commitment to the school of dance to promote his message of inclusion.

And yet, he acknowledged, “it’s a very uncomfortable position to be in.”

By contrast, the writers C Pam Zhang and Safiya Umoja Noble, a MacArthur fellow, dropped out as keynote speakers for the commencement ceremonies at the Rossier School of Education — citing the invitation of police to campus, the arrest of dozens of protesters, and the decision to censor Ms. Tabassum. And Mr. Lewison, who is Jewish, postponed his engagement as the keynote for two Dornsife College commencements. The college said Wednesday that the new speaker would be Jane Coaston, a libertarian fellow with U.S.C.’s Center for the Political Future and a contributing writer to The New York Times.

At the engineering school, where Ms. Tabassum, the valedictorian, will be graduating, professors were trying to resurrect her chance to speak.

A resolution by the executive council of the engineering school’s faculty asked that she address its commencement ceremony. The school’s dean, Yannis C. Yortsos, did not respond to questions about whether the request would be approved.

And a petition, signed by 400 professors and expected to be discussed by the faculty Senate on Wednesday, demands that the university apologize to Ms. Tabassum and also calls for the censure of both Dr. Folt and the university provost.

Adding to the drama: the engineering school’s website is no longer listing two previously announced graduation speakers: Kevin Crawford Knight, chief scientist for the ride-hailing company Didi Global, and Zohreh Khademi, a Microsoft executive. A spokesman for the school did not respond to questions about whether Ms. Khademi and Mr. Knight had withdrawn, and neither of them could be reached for comment.

A university committee had picked Ms. Tabassum, who is Muslim and of South Asian ancestry, from about 100 undergraduates with near 4.0 grade point averages. Her selection as graduation speaker sparked a bitter backlash from several pro-Israel groups. who objected to a pro-Palestinian site that she had linked to in a social media account.

Citing threats of a “disruption,” the university canceled the valedictory speech, a campus tradition.

Ms. Tabassum, who grew up east of Los Angeles in suburban San Bernardino County, said in a statement that she was “profoundly disappointed” and questioned the school’s motivation. She now faces harassment. An organization called Accuracy in Media, known for doxxing students, put up a web page calling her U.S.C.s “leading antisemite.”

Hossein Hashemi, a professor of engineering, said that Ms. Tabassum, an aspiring physician, is widely respected by faculty. “At this point, she probably wishes she was not even elected as valedictorian,” said Dr. Hashemi, who is leading a campaign on her behalf.

Not all the pomp has been lost. The last-minute party being thrown by the school on Thursday night will include the Trojan Marching Band, fireworks and drone shows.

“Not going to lie, it sounds like a cool event,” said Dustin Jeffords, 37, who will receive a master’s degree in communications management. He, his wife, his parents, his in-laws and two siblings are planning to be there.

Still, he said, having come to college late, after military service, he had been especially excited about the big U.S.C. commencement, with its bells and whistles, given the sacrifice that earned it.

“As great as these convocation ceremonies are, the big one with the pomp and circumstance is such a big deal and something I was looking forward to,” he said. “To have the finish line disappear in front of your eyes is disappointing.”

— Shawn Hubler and Stephanie Saul Shawn Hubler reported from the campus of the University of Southern California.