Reported Speech and shifting back the tense.

Hi, Izzat Hannah,

@Izzat Hannah posted:

Do these two sentences have the same meaning?

Helen said she loves visiting New York.

The usage of 'loves' clearly indicates that she still loves visiting it.

@Izzat Hannah posted:

Do these two sentences have the same meaning?

Helen said she loved visiting New York.

Here, we don't know if she still loves visiting it or not. What we know is that she loved visiting it at that time. Maybe that happened a long time ago, and she has a different opinion now, or maybe she still loves it.

A: Does Helen love visiting New York?

B: Yes, she said she loves visiting it. / Yes, she said she loved visiting it.

Of course the best answer is 'She says she loves visiting it.'.

I thank you Mr. ahmed_btm (The mysterious man). But what you have said I know. I need to know how a native understands the two sentences. And then I can use his understating to compare with our language Arabic. I use this method in teaching my students.

@Izzat Hannah posted:

Do these two sentences have the same meaning?

Helen said she loves visiting New York.

or Helen said she loved visiting New York.

@Izzat Hannah posted:

I need to know how a native understands the two sentences.

Hello, Izzat Hannah—When you ask, "DO these two sentences have the same meaning?," do you mean, "CAN these two sentences have the same meaning?" If so, the answer is, yes, they can. They can both be indirect-speech versions of:

• Hellen said, "I love visiting New York."

But if you mean, "MUST these two sentences have the same meaning in all possible contexts?," the answer is, no, they need not have the same meaning. Ahmed has clarified how it is possible for them to have different meanings.