Grammar

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Hello everyone,Is the sentence below "a reported speech"?It's said that a king was buried in this mound.Regards,JA

Clive · Accepted Answer

Maybe yes, maybe no.

CalifJim · Answer

Joseph A Hello everyone,
Is the sentence below "a "reported speech"?
It's said that a king was buried in this mound.
Regards,
JA

I think you have to make your own decision on this sort of statement.

It's reporting a general idea more than it's reporting what an individual person actually said, but you may want to include that sort of thing as reported speech anyway. The grammar is essentially the same either way, and that may enter into your decision.

My take on it is that "reported speech" is a mostly artificial concept used only for pedagogical reasons, just to get students used to working with transformations between tenses, a skill that's needed generally in learning a new language. So it is of little consequence whether you'd like to define it strictly or loosely.

CJ

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