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This is the phrase I have:
Direct speech: The world laughed when I told what I had seen.
Indirect Speech: He said that the world had laughed when he (had) told what he had seen.
The question regarding the reported speech is, do I have to use "told" or "had told"?
I'd write it this way:
"He said the world laughed when he told what he had seen."
The 'past perfect' does not need to be applied to every verb.
