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Adviseeker Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Need advice on reported speech, thx soooo much! =)

Direct Speech:

Mrs Smith said, " I have been contributing to the fund ever since it started two years ago."

Reported Speech:

Mrs Smith said that she had been contributing to the fund ever since it started two year (ago or before??).

Please advise, thx soooooo much! =)
  

Top answer

Both direct speech and reported speech have a time context that may be different than the time of the quotation. "two years ago" is relative to the time when Mrs. Smith spoke, exactly the same as in the direct quote.

— AlpheccaStars

  • Both direct speech and reported speech have a time context that may be different than the time of the quotation.
  • "two years ago" is relative to the time when Mrs.
  • Smith spoke, exactly the same as in the direct quote.
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5 Answers
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Both direct speech and reported speech have a time context that may be different than the time of the quotation.

"two years ago" is relative to the time when Mrs. Smith spoke, exactly the same as in the direct quote.
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Mrs Smith said, "I have been contributing to the fund ever since it started two years ago."



To condense the explanation, call the time Mrs Smith made her statement T1, and the time this was reported T2.





Mrs Smith said that she had been contributing to the fund ever since it started two years ago. -- To me, this logically means that th
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Thank you soooo much for your detailed explanation, Mr Wordy! =)
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Mr WordyHowever, because of the potential for confusion

Strike out the word "however".

Where is that "Edit post" button??!!
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Thank you soooo much for your advice, AlpheccaStars! =)
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