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The exec was making a presentation to the company board."Computers have allowed us to cut costs," he explained. "We expect even more dramatic improvements as computers become increasingly self-sufficient."

I don't use backshifting because the situation is still true. Am I right?

The exec was making a presentation to the company board. He told them computers have allowed them to cut costs. Then he explained that they expect even more dramatic improvements as computers become increasingly self-sufficient.

Felicity
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    That seems correct; however, the use of them and they is slightly ambiguous. Who? The board members, the company, or somebody else? In the original, the exec says us and we. Is that him and the other board members, him and a different group, or the company as a whole? (For example, He told them [the board] computers have allowed *the company* to cut costs, etc. – Jason Bassford Sep 22 '18 at 04:21

1 Answers1

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This is a gray area. Keeping the reported speech in the present tense is acceptable if you're reporting an event in the simple past, and the reported situation is still true:

The exec made a presentation. He said that computers have allowed them to cut costs. Then he explained that they expect even more dramatic improvements. (situation is still true now)

The exec made a presentation. He said that computers had allowed them to cut costs. Then he explained that they were expecting even more dramatic improvements. (situation may or may not be true now)

On the other hand, when you use past progressive 'The exec was making a presentation ...', you're more forcefully setting a full scenario in the past, like a storyteller. As a result, it's more necessary to backshift the reported speech:

The exec was making a presentation. He said that computers had allowed them to cut costs. Then he explained that they were expecting even more dramatic improvements.

Paul Dexter
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