Why in the sentence like this:"John called and told me he is on his way.He should be here soon",-there is no the reported speech, and the verb"is"doesn't change from the present tense form into the past simple form "was" though the word "told" denotes speaking and stands in the past form?
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1This question will need to be edited (by me or another user) for readability, so can you clarify what you mean by "there is no the reported speech"?– mRottenCommented Oct 22, 2019 at 20:57
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Reported speech would be 'John called and told me that he was on his way'.– Kate BuntingCommented Oct 23, 2019 at 8:14
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Also @KateBunting It's reported speech alright. It's the same thing, with that elided. That can be dropped most times.– KrisCommented Oct 23, 2019 at 8:15
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Welcome to ELU. See also English Language Learners Good Luck.– KrisCommented Oct 23, 2019 at 8:16
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1I agree with @Kris ... try ell.stackexchange.com You see: categories like "reported speech" are mainly used for teaching English, but are not needed by native speakers.– GEdgarCommented Oct 23, 2019 at 10:17
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1 Answer
Even though the telephone call from John has ended and so is in the past, it would seem from the sentence that he is still presently on his way. It is quite correct to say:
John called (past) and told (past) me he is (present) on his way.
Saying that he was on his way would be grammatically correct, but it would mean that his journey was over, or that there was some doubt over it.
