By Quotation marks, Past tenses

Hi,I was listening to some types of speeches and have some questions.1.When someone says this, does he have to make it known that it is quoted? Not if he doesn't want to. Such 'rules' are not governed by grammar. A teacher, for example, may insist that a student identify every...

Hi,I was listening to some types of speeches and have some questions.1.When someone says this, does he have to make it known that it is quoted? I think the written version should be in quotation marks because not being in quotation marks doesn't make sense to me.Next time is later again.2.Can...

In the first sentence the use of a present tense (think) emphasises what your opinion is now. The past tense (thought) refers to the past; your opinion may have changed by now."I told her that I am (was?) happy in my job" Both are right. The sequence of tenses would require was but if...

"... when you have both finished" sounds awkward, is it a common sentential constuct? Yes, it's a normal construct And your sentence "What were the questions like?" looks good but can I also say "How were the questions like?"? No, but you could say "How were the questions?' or 'How did you...

Try a search at http://www.google.com with: site:bbc.co.uk "at this time" and separately with: site:bbc.co.uk "at that time" (quotation marks are important) which will perform a search on that bastion of good English, the BBC You will find that "at that time" is related mostly with...

First, I think it should be I have had breakfast except in special contexts which would specififically call for a past tense, as in: I had breakfast with him three years ago. I have had breakfasts isn't idiomatical, IMO, and this is confirmed by: "I have had breakfast" - 800 hits at...

The point in Jespersen is the degree the doubt required. I don't think you need the degree of doubt which you're using in your version, by using the past perfect tense for present time. Your friend's version If he lived today, he would be 135 years old. is fine IMO and the most common. ...

Jack, As I see it, the reason for the use of present & past tense in this story is: The narrator (Margaret) is telling her story now, in the present. "My daughter IS an athlete" She then goes on to talk about the past "Until her freshman year in high school, Ann WAS only marginally...

Playing to Win by Margaret A. Whitney 1 My daughter is an athlete. Nowadays, this statement won’t strike many parents as unusual, but it does me. Until her freshman year in high school, Ann was only marginally interested in sport of any kind. When she played, she didn’t swing hard, often...

I saw this article from the web and I think it is worth to post part of the article in this forum. Following is the article ...AND REPORTED SPEECH Dear English Doctor, Please explain about word changes in reported speech. If you say to me "My sister is going to Chiang Mai", I can report...