She told me she [is/was] eighteen in August.

[Hidenori]

Could you take a look at the following examples?

(1) a. She told me she was eighteen in August.

b. She told me she is eighteen in August.​

It seems to me that there can be a difference of meaning between the two examples. Let’s assume the situation of (2):

(2) She said to me last May, “I am eighteen in August.”

In the situation of (2), I think, (1a), but not (1b), is well-formed, because she is already eighteen now, and will be nineteen in coming August.

Does this assessment make sense?

 

[shootingstar]

"Tell" is a reporting verb, hence the following is reported indirect speech and backshift is needed.

She told me she was eighteen.
Correct if the direct speech is: She told me, 'I'm eighteen.'

She told me (last May) she would be eighteen in August.
Correct if the direct speech is: She told me (last May), 'I will be eighteen in August'

She told me she is eighteen in August.

This sentence doesn't work in my opinion.

In August the direct speech is: She told me, 'I turned eighteen in May.'
And the indirect speech is: She told me she had turned eighteen in May.

Not a teacher.

 

[5jj]

"Tell" is a reporting verb, hence the following is reported indirect speech and backshift is needed.

She told me she was eighteen.
Correct if the direct speech is: She told me, 'I'm eighteen.'

She told me she is eighteen is also possible if 'she' is eighteen at the time of reporting.

I have added Not a teacher to your post, @shootingstar. This is a requirement for non-teachers who respond in the 'Ask a Teacher' forum.

 

[Tarheel]

Perhaps:

I asked her how old she is. She said she will be 18 in August.

Or:

She told me she will be 18 in August.

 

[shootingstar]

In addition to post #2

There is an exception:

We don’t need to change the tense in indirect speech if what a person said is still true or relevant or has not happened yet. This often happens when someone talks about the future, or when someone uses the present simple, present continuous or present perfect in their original words.

So, we can also say :

She told me she is eighteen.
Correct if the direct speech is: She told me, 'I'm eighteen.'

She told me she will be eighteen in August.
Correct if the direct speech is: She told me, 'I will be eighteen in August.'

Not a teacher

 

[Rover_KE]

Also answered here.

 

[emsr2d2]

@Hidenori We ask that users not post the same question on different forums simultaneously. It can cause a lot of wasted time when we (or they) are answering a question that's already been dealt with.
You posted here first (6.59am BST) and you already had two good responses before you posted the identical question on WR. You should, in this case, have provided WR with a link to your thread here so that they could see what you'd already been told and decide if they had anything to add.