Search results for 'tag:Numbers tag:Indirect speech' matching tags 'Numbers' and 'Indirect speech'

Re: reported speech

richard_s — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:44:36 GMT

Well, you know there are a number of terms for virtually everything relating to do with language. Â The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language calls it 'indirect reported speech'. Â I think the 'reported' part of the name is important to distinguish it from 'indirect speech' in which the person doesn't directly say what they mean (in which they imply the meaning).

Re: Change into indirect speech....

Clive — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:48:40 GMT

Hi,
here goes my answers for the rest of the questions Mr. Clive..

i am specifying the questions number..to which i could answer

2. He said that little did she realize that he knew all about her.

3. Brian was keen about stamp collection.

He said that Brian was keen about stamp collection.

4. He said that he couldn't eat such a curry which was too spicy for him. OK
5. He said that it was about time that the person had a holiday, because they hadn't had one for such a long time.

6. He said that the weekend was, unfortunately, not only wet but also cold.

7. He said that he really respected his father. (look) I don't see how 'look' relates to this.

8. The baby started crying no sooner we stopped the car.

8.He said that no sooner had they stopped the car than the baby started crying.

9. He said that if George had revised more, he wouldn't have failed the exam.

10. He said that he borrowed $10 from Ian. OK

I still wonder if you are really supposed to change these to reported speech. They just look to me like sentences that you should rephrase.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Change into indirect speech....

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:26:13 GMT

here goes my answers for the rest of the questions Mr. Clive..

i am specifying the questions number..to which i could answer

3. Brian was keen about stamp collection.

4. He said that he couldn't eat such a curry which was too spicy for him.

6. The weekend was not only wet, it was also cold unfortunately.

8. The baby started crying no sooner we stopped the car.

9. He said that if he didn't revise enough, George would failed the exam.

10. He said that he borrowed $10 from Ian.

Re: Tigers in India

Clive — Thu, 24 May 2007 22:22:03 GMT

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 survey in 2002 put tiger numbers at 3,500. That was far too optimistic, say conservationists.

They blame poaching and urbanisation for the decline and say the authorities must do more before time runs out.

A century ago India was believed to have tens of thousands of tigers.

'Depressing'

The new survey, conducted over two years, was the most ambitious ever undertaken to try to stem the decline in the population of India's tigers.

It found the largest decline in the tiger population to be in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, where the number of big cats has gone down from 710 to 255 in the past five years.

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1.India has far fewer tigers living in the wild than in Africa. [ Just an indicative sentence or rather a sentence to compare Indian tigers and African tigers.]

This is not correct. It suggests that India has some tigers living in Africa. ie India has far fewer tigers living in the wild than (India has living) in Africa.

It should be India has far fewer tigers living in the wild than Africa.

2. He said he had been to India. [ This is indirect speech.]

3. He said, ''He has been to India''. [ This is direct speech.] Yes, but I suspect the writer was trying to say He said, ''I have been to India''.

My question is on the first sentence of the above article.

India has far fewer tigers living in the wild than had been thought, initial results from a major new study suggest.

The words 'had been thought' look like it is a past perfect sentence; however, it doesn't qualify to be a past perfect tense. You should push one action before the other to make a past perfect sentence. The Past Perfect is used to show that the 'thinking' action preceded the publication of the initial study results. ie People thought that before the results became available, but not after that.

What is the grammatical nature of the sentence in question? A more conventional organization of this sentence would be

Initial results from a major new study suggest (that) India has far fewer tigers living in the wild than had been thought.

The clause order in the original is just a bit more uncommon. It's the kind of clause order that newspaper headline writers like to use. It gives more prominence to the new fact than to its source.

Best wishes, Clive

Tigers in India

Rex — Thu, 24 May 2007 21:25:09 GMT

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 survey in 2002 put tiger numbers at 3,500. That was far too optimistic, say conservationists.

They blame poaching and urbanisation for the decline and say the authorities must do more before time runs out.

A century ago India was believed to have tens of thousands of tigers.

'Depressing'

The new survey, conducted over two years, was the most ambitious ever undertaken to try to stem the decline in the population of India's tigers.

It found the largest decline in the tiger population to be in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, where the number of big cats has gone down from 710 to 255 in the past five years.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.India has far fewer tigers living in the wild than in Africa. [ Just an indicative sentence or rather a sentence to compare Indian tigers and African tigers.]

2. He said he had been to India. [ This is indirect speech.]

3. He said, '' he has been to India''. [ This is direct speech.]

My question is on the first sentence of the above article.

India has far fewer tigers living in the wild than had been thought, initial results from a major new study suggest.

Re: past tense and if

myprofe — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 16:53:14 GMT

In reported speech it is understood that the verb tense is the result of changing from direct to indirect speech.

1) You say that if you see her you will show her your new bike.

2) You're not saying that if you saw her you would show her your new bike.

Sentence number one in reported speech would be:

You said that if you saw her you would show her your new bike.