Difference between Say and Said

Hi there,

Hi I am Joel from the Philippines, I am really confused about the usage of "say" when it is used in reported speech....Why do we say in reported speech: She says "What time will you be home?" rather than using the past tense "said" in She said "What time will you be home?"? What is the difference between the two? and what verb tense should be prefferred? Thank you very much and God bless.

 

This is a tricky one and I personally think there's no right or wrong, at least in most cases. It depends on the time frame the speaker has in mind most of the time.

However, I have some preferences. In everyday conversation, if I use the past tense said, I wouldn't quote the speech, instead I would change the speech tense to the past tense. For example,

Mary: What time will you be home?

Kate: I'll be home before dinner.

 

Jerry, guess what the first thing my mom asked when I told her I was going out with you?  She asked what time I would be home. (I dont think 'said' fits well, 'ask' is better)

If I want to quote, either tense is OK with me though I'd prefer the present

I'm not a native. You might want to confirm with the natives

 

.

Tom says that.....yesterday. Why says not said?

Does yesterday refer to Tom's speaking or the event of which he speaks?  Your example is unclear.

Regardless, in conversation, we often uses 'Tom says' (though he actually said it yesterday) when the fact stated by Tom is still true today:

Tom says that his apartment is expensive.

We also use 'Tom says' as a sort of narrative technique, to bring the action into more immediacy for the listener:

Tom says you should clean your room!