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Guest Posted 22 years ago
Grammar
Changing tenses in indirect speech
Direct speech : I said to him "the earth is round".
should the indirect be : I told him that the Earth is round OR
I told him that the Earth was round
i.e. Should the tense be changed in indirect speech when stating universal truths?
should the indirect be : I told him that the Earth is round OR
I told him that the Earth was round
i.e. Should the tense be changed in indirect speech when stating universal truths?
Top answer
You've hit upon one of the correct guidelines: universals remain in the 'simple present' in indirect speech; so can, generally, any condition which has not changed since the original speech.
- You've hit upon one of the correct guidelines: universals remain in the 'simple present' in indirect speech; so can, generally, any condition which has not changed since the original speech.
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1 Answers
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You've hit upon one of the correct guidelines: universals remain in the 'simple present' in indirect speech; so can, generally, any condition which has not changed since the original speech.
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