a reported speech question... http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/07/world/asia/philippines-typhoon-haiyan/index.html?c=intl-homepage-t&page=2 Authorities in Cebu said they were unable to establish whether a woman who was hit by a falling coconut tree in the north of the province was dead or injured. I want to ask if the below sentence is correct before being reported? If positive, why it's not "had been hit" in the report speech? Thank you in advance. We are unable to establish whether a woman who was hit by a falling coconut tree in the north of the province is dead or injured.