Reported speech without the headache
How to report what someone said, and what happens to tenses and time words.
Back-shifting
When the reporting verb is in the past, the tense usually moves back one step: I am tired becomes She said she was tired. Will becomes would, can becomes could.
Time and place words
Today may become that day, tomorrow becomes the next day, here becomes there. Context decides, so think about when you are reporting.