Retrieve the language
Reported statements often backshift after a past reporting verb: I am worried → She said she was worried. Change pronouns and time references when the reporting situation changes. Reported questions use statement word order: Where do they live? → He asked where they lived. Yes/no questions use if or whether. Do not add do/does/did inside the reported clause. A still-true fact may retain its tense when context justifies it.
First conditional: if + present simple, will/can/may + base verb for a real future possibility: If we leave early, we will avoid the heat. Second conditional: if + past simple, would + base verb for an imagined or unlikely situation: If I owned a boat, I would use it responsibly. Were is a standard hypothetical form with all persons; was is also common with I/he/she in informal usage. Do not normally use will in the if-clause.