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Liza asked me If I (go - was going - went - had gone) on the school trip to the museum tomorrow.

Which is the correct answer? I chose (was going), but why tomorrow isn't transferred to the following day in this sentence?

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  • I expect someone taught you that you always change "tomorrow" to "the following day" with reported speech? If so, this is not correct. "Tomorrow" can be fine most of the time, as long as you are talking to someone today about something that is happening tomorrow.
    – Andrew
    Commented Jan 12, 2018 at 17:30

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Generally, you shouldn't use the word "tomorrow" in reported speech, only in direct speech. Change it to "the next day" or "the following day" in reported speech. See more info on changing the time and place in reported speech

Examples:

Direct speech:

  • Lisa asked me, "Are you going on the school trip to the museum tomorrow?"

Reported speech:

  • Lisa asked me if I was going on the school trip to the museum the following day.

I have no idea why the person who wrote the question wrote it that way. It could simply be an error. I can however think of a situation where tomorrow could be used in reported speech, but that would mean using a different tense from the options given. It would be OK if you were to use the perfect tense "has asked", because this would refer to a very recent time, before tomorrow has arrived. Then you would need to use "am going" which expresses the future. For example:

  • Lisa has asked me if I am going on the school trip to the museum tomorrow.
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  • I disagree. You personally might prefer "the following day" but if the listener is aware of the context, "tomorrow" can be fine. A: "My mom told me I was going to get my hair cut tomorrow, whether I like it or not." B: "Dude, that's a bummer."
    – Andrew
    Commented Jan 12, 2018 at 17:26
  • I wasn't actually expressing a personal preference. This is what we are taught in the UK. You might be from somewhere else, but here in the UK using tomorrow with the simple past tense construction in reported speech sounds odd, unless tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. Another thing that doesn't work here in the UK is "mom", and "dude". The English language is diverse, and standards differ from one country to the next, so I agree with you to some extent.
    – Billy Kerr
    Commented Jan 12, 2018 at 18:05
  • Yes, I'm American. I understand we don't really speak English here, just a vague approximation of grunts and whistles :D
    – Andrew
    Commented Jan 12, 2018 at 19:35
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"Liza asked me if I was going on the school trip to the museum tomorrow." is correct.

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. cambridge.org

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