She said she is very good vs She said that she was very good

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'She said she is very good' is used when reporting someone's direct speech in the present tense. 'She said that she was very good' is used when reporting someone's speech in the past tense. The choice between the two depends on the tense of the original statement being reported.

Last updated: March 15, 2024 • 1193 views

This phrase is correct when reporting someone's direct speech in the present tense.

"She said she is very good"

This phrase is used to report someone's speech in the present tense without changing the tense of the reported statement.

Examples:

She said she is very good at playing the piano.
He said he is going to the store.
They said she is the best candidate for the job.

Show examples from the web [+]

Jul 21, 2014 ... ... operation put right. She said: 'She is very good in theory. She explained exactly what was going to happen. But she didn't put it into practice.' ...
Mar 30, 2015 ... She said she is very good at holding people accountable. The company now has 85 trucks and has had four company moves during its 35-year ...
... Ash Lawn-Highland with the idea of choosing and telling stories about objects in our collection in ways that engage visitors,” she said. “She is very good at it!”.
Nov 14, 2014 ... But she said she is very good looking..... For REALS. Girls, this is creepy to a " normal " guy. Trust me...don't ever do this. Guys, try harder (or ...

Alternatives:

She said she was very good
She said she's very good
She said she's very good at it
She said she's very good at what she does
She said she's very good at her job

This phrase is correct when reporting someone's speech in the past tense.

"She said that she was very good"

This phrase is used to report someone's speech in the past tense, changing the tense of the reported statement to match the reporting tense.

Examples:

She said that she was very good at swimming.
He said that he was going to the party.
They said that she was the best student in the class.

Show examples from the web [+]

Apr 11, 2015 ... She said that she was very good and that boys wanted her on their team. Among her team sponsors were J.C. Penneys, Coronado Lime Cola, ...
Nov 29, 2010 ... She said that she was very good looking when she was younger. She said she doesn't leave the house much now so she's not at the top of her ...

Alternatives:

She said she is very good
She said she's very good
She said she's very good at it
She said she's very good at what she does
She said she's very good at her job

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She said she is very good vs She said that she was very good