In Clauses^x, Direct speech^x

Should I use "is" or "was"?I thought a spider is/was an insect, but it is in fact an arachnid. Use "was". This is not reported speech! (And the first part is not a universal truth anyway; it's a universal falsehood!) This is one of the most typical patterns...

My try: "If I were in New York, I would visit the current exhibition at the Metropolitian Museum," he said. This sentence means that he is not in New York at the time of speaking. He said that if he were in NY, he would visit the ... This is called indirect speech. After you have...

There’s no difference between "I believe …" and "I believe that …" in examples A) & B) given by you. ‘That’ is subordinating conjunction that joins a clause to another on which it depends for its full meaning and that it may be let out or elided sometimes in some complex sentences. It can be...

Basically, the reactor Now, don't tear your hair out and start screaming, but the second of the two series above is sometimes taken to mean the same as the first series! -- that is, taken to refer to what was then the future instead of what was then the past. My recommendation, if...

Thank you so much Jim, I really learned a lot from your last posts! A lot of things I didn't know. For example, I didn't know of that third interpretation.Basically, the reactor explode. As you see, those are part of reported speech, but you also mentioned other sentences where the forms...

Hi, I thought that will and would(future) mustn't follow the word if. eg I'm afraid that if I propose to Mary, she'll say no. Yes, don't use 'will' to refer to the future with 'if', as your example shows. And don't say things like 'If I would become King, I would do this ....' However,...

Hi, India has far fewer tigers living in the wild than had been thought, initial results from a major new study suggest. The Wildlife Institute of India census showed tiger numbers falling in some states by two-thirds in five years. A final report is due out in December. India's last major...

The tag goes with the main clause. ... are late ... aren't you? ... will call ... won't you? Tags in indirect speech don't really make any sense, because in order to form the indirect speech structure you have to add a main clause. The tag would then apply to the main clause, not to...

1) You are late because you missed the bus, aren't/didn't you?? 2) When you arrive home, you will call me, do/will you?? Should a question tag always follow the verb of the main clause or it can follow the verb of a subordinate clause?? And is it possible to convert the tags into indirect...

Jackson6612 wrote: Original Sentence: It was reported that John Doe had been taken to hospital after he was found unconcious in his room. Step 1: It was reported that John Doe had been taken to hospital after he was found unconcious in his room. Step 2 (Passive Voice): It was reported (by...