ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: reported speech

Marius Hancu — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:24:28 GMT

No, the secret is that the English prefer tense parallelism: past wants past. Only very rarely do they change from that, when you really want to emphasize the statement is still valid.

Re: reported speech

Anonymous — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:44:04 GMT

Thank you, everyone.

Would you say the secret is in this?

When we are reporting something that was said in the past but is still true, the choice to make a tense change is up to the speaker.

eg, John said coins are made of metal.

But sometimes, it hard to see if something is holding true today or has stopped being true. Do you have some tips?

John said he likes to eat cake. -- Does it hold true still or not? How would you know?

But then, how would you be sure the sentence below still holds true? Since it is a planned thing, the planned part still holds true??

Hi, I have good news. John said there will be a pay hike for city employees starting June

Would the paradigm of recommendation for the tense change or being up to the speaker become different if used the phrase "I or it was told"? Does it have the same effect as the "he said that" reported speech expression?

Hi, I have good news. I or it was told by John said there will be a pay hike for city employees starting June.

Re: reported speech

Grammar Geek — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:36:00 GMT

I would advise you STRONGLY to use the reported that... and said that a pay hike is...

I've never seen minutes of a meeting that use He said, "The streets are safer now."

For #3, say "John reported that he expect improvements in ..."

You may want to do a Google search on preparing meeting minutes.

Re: reported speech

Marius Hancu — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:35:40 GMT

1. I have good news for you. John said that it is OK for us to walk at night after 11 o'clock because the streets are much safer now.

Do I have to say "it was OK for us to walk at night ..."? Yes

2. I have good news for those who are city employees or have relatives who are one. John said there will be a pay hike for city employees starting June.

Do I have to say "there would be a pay hike for ..."? Yes

3. I have good news for you. John said that he is expecting to see improvement in the city garbage disposal service.

Do I have to say "that he was expecting to see ..."? Yes

4. Would it make any difference if I have to report the results of the meeting in person to a group of people??

Re: reported speech

CalifJim — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:35:30 GMT

1., 2., 3. Both OK for all three. Your first attempt is fine. I wouldn't change it.

4. It wouldn't make any difference, no.

reported speech

Anonymous — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:24:13 GMT

Hi,

Let us say that I have attended a neighborhood meeting where concerned citizens gather and discuss a lot of civic issues. It could be a neighborhood meeting or any kind of meeting. Atter the meeting, I have to write a report to the those people who are interested in hearing what went on at the meeting. How should I word the reporting? Should I use the traditional method of "he said this and now, he said this"?

1. I have good news for you. John said that it is OK for us to walk at night after 11 o'clock because the streets are much safer now.

Do I have to say "it was OK for us to walk at night ..."?

2. I have good news for those who are city employees or have relatives who are one. John said there will be a pay hike for city employees starting June.

Do I have to say "there would be a pay hike for ..."?

3. I have good news for you. John said that he is expecting to see improvement in the city garbage disposal service.

Do I have to say "that he was expecting to see ..."?

4. Would it make any difference if I have to report the results of the meeting in person to a group of people??