A. Reported Speech follows exactly the same rules as the rest of the language. When we report what people say or think we use:
a. clauses with that but we can leave out the word that.
b. ‘wh-‘ clauses and clauses with ‘if’
c. ‘to-infinitives’
A1. If you are talking about the past but you mention something that is still true you could use a present tense form to show you agree that it is true.
A2. When we use reported speech, the main verb of the sentence is usually past.
B. Reported Speech often use the to-infinitive after verbs of thinking and feeling to report or summarise actions: decide, hope, intend
C. Reported Speech: introduce a report,an idea or a summary. These verbs have the pattern: N + V + (that) + clause.
D. Reported Speech: tell and say. If you say who somebody is talking to, use tell. Otherwise use say.