in some cases, though, a "natural sequence" of tenses is more appropriate. here the tense of a verb in a subordinate clause is not determined by the tense of the verb in the superordinate clause, but is determined simply according to the sense of the clause taken apart from the rest of the sentence. the rule for writers following the natural sequence of tenses can be expressed as follows: imagine yourself at the point in time denoted by the main verb, and use the tense for the subordinate verb that you would have used "at that time". thus the tense used in the indirect speech remains the same as it was in the words as originally spoken. this is normal when the main verb is in the present or future tense (as opposed to past tense or conditional mood). for example: