Present or past tense after “he told me that…”?

Question

My wife's textbook says that these two are the same:

1. He said to me, "I want you to join the game."
2. He told me (that) he wanted me to join the game.

I'm not a native English speaker, but in this situation I would say "He told me (that) he wants me to join the game."

Maybe I'm wrong, but to me wanted in the second sentence indicates that while he previously did want, he didn't want it anymore when he spoke to me.

In which situations do you use the past tense (e.g. wanted) when you report on what someone told you? In which situations do you use the present tense (e.g. wants)? I would appreciate some example sentences as well.

Answer 1

It's the English sequence of tenses at play here. If the main part is in the past tense, then the tense in the subordinate clause (the reported speech in your example) has to agree with the main clause -- in other words, the tense "shifts". Roughly speaking, in English the simple past tense in the subordinate clause means that the action in it was simultaneous with the main clause, which is the case in your example. To indicate that the action in the subordinate clause was earlier than in the main clause you'd have to use past perfect. So to indicate "that while he previously did want, he didn't want it anymore" you'll have to say "He told me (that) he had wanted me to join the game".

And I understand your confusion! My own native language doesn't have these rules for sequence of tenses either. It's taken me quite some time to get used to it, and I still can't say that I actually feel it. But that's how it is for native English speakers.

Answer 2

Both sentences mean the same. The difference lies in the fact that in sentence 1:

He said to me, "I want you to join the game." What is between inverted

commas represents the exact words He said, whereas in sentence 2: the person

"me" is reporting what "He said to" or told. Reporting something generally takes

place some time later than when it was said. In that case, there are certain

fixed changes related to a)tenses= simple present into simple past(want

=wanted; simple past into past perfect; will into would; etc b)**time and

place** expressions: today = that day etc, etc c)pronouns (in your

sentence, I into he;you into me,) All these changes depend on

who reports, where and when and, on the tenses used originally.