Need Correction. Reported Speech.

Question

Hi teachers,This is the text in Direct Speech Tom: Why are you driving so slowly?Susan: I’m going as fast as the speed-limit. Tom: You can forget the speed-limit. Nobody drives that slowly Susan!Susan: Well, I want to drive carefully because the roads are crowded. Tom: But they were also crowded this morning and you drove a lot faster then!Susan: That’s true. I drove too fast!! Tom: What? Did anything happen after you left me? What happened Susan? Now, I’m sure that something happened!This is the text in Reported Speech. Is it right? Are there any mistakes?Tom told Susan why she was driving so slowly and Susan said (that) she was driving as fast as the speed limit. Then Tom told Susan (that) she could forget the speed-limit because nobody drives that slowly, but Susan said (that) she wanted to drive carefully because the roads were crowded. After that Tom said (that) but the roads had been also crowed that morning and she had driven a lot faster then. Then Susan told Tom (that) that was true, she had driven too fast. Next Tom said if anything happened after she had left her, that he was sure that something had happened then.Thanks in advance

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

Thinking SpainHi teachers,

This is the text in Direct Speech

Tom: Why are you driving so slowly?
Susan: I’m going as fast as the speed-limit.
Tom: You can forget the speed-limit. Nobody drives that slowly Susan!
Susan: Well, I want to drive carefully because the roads are crowded.
Tom: But they were also crowded this morning and you drove a lot faster then!
Susan: That’s true. I drove too fast!!
Tom: What? Did anything happen after you left me? What happened Susan? Now, I’m
sure that something happened!

This is the text in Reported Speech. Is it right? Are there any mistakes?

Tom asked Susan why she was driving so slowly and Susan said (that) she was driving as fast as the speed limit.

Then Tom told Susan (that) she could forget the speed-limit because nobody drives that slowly, but Susan said (that) she wanted to drive carefully because the roads were crowded. Okay

After that Tom said (that) but-delete the roads had also been-word order crowed that morning and she had driven a lot faster then.

Then Susan told Tom (that) that-okay, but I would say "it" was true, she had driven too fast. You could say something like "Susan replied/responded" instead of all these "Then [person] said..."

Next Tom [exclaimed in surprise-if you want to cover the "What!" and] asked if anything [had-optional] happened after she had left him-Tom is a man's name, and expressed that he was sure that something had happened then-delete.

Thanks in advance

You don't need to -- and in fact it's sometimes wrong to - say "said." Sometimes people ask or exclaim. When you ask a question, you don't say in reported speech that "he said why..." but "he asked why..."

Tenacious Learner · Answer

Ok. So if there's a question word the word 'that' is never used in reported speech..

Grammar Geek, thanks a lot for your correction. That’s a great help, the correction itself and your commentaries. Could you do this correction too? After this one, there’s another one, the last one, but shorter.

Susan: Well … I was in the centre of town. I was in a hurry, and …

Tom: Yes? Go on! What happened? What do you want to tell me?

Susan: A girl ran in front of me.

Tom: You mean … you mean …

Susan: Wait! Listen! The girl was a good distance away so I didn’t slow down.

Tom: Well, what’s so terrible about that?

Susan: Just a second. There’s more. The girl fell down.

Tom: Fell down? You mean you hit her?

Susan: No, But I almost did. I braked as hard as I could. I stopped, just in time!

Tom: Well, at least you didn’t have an accident after all!

After that Susan said (that) she had been in the centre of town, that she was in a hurry and a girl had run in front of her. She also said (that) the girl had been a good distance away so she hadn’t slowed down.

Next Tom asked what was so terrible about it and Susan answered just a second, there was more. The girl had fallen down.

Next Tom asked if she had hit her and Susan answered (that) she almost had done it. That she had braked as hard as she could and she had stopped just in time.

After that Tom said (that) well at least you hadn’t had an accident after all.

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it.

BarbaraPA · Answer

With this kind of dialogue, you can paraphrase and give the overall discussion -- or at least, I would. You don't have to do word for word, line for line, do you?

Susan told Tom that she had been driving in town and a girl had run in front of her, but that because she was a good distance away, Susan hadn't bothered to slow down. But Susan went on to say that the girl fell, and she had to brake as hard as she could, and was barely able to stop in time. Tom reassured her that at least she didn't hit her.

Tenacious Learner · Answer

Ok. Understood Grammar Geek.

I have another question. Why in the following two sentences there's a question mark at the end if the grammar construction is not a question?

Tom: Fell down? You mean you hit her?

Thanks in advance

BarbaraPA · Answer

It tells you what his voice did. It rose.

The first means something like:
Do you mean to tell me that she fell down?
Did I hear you right when you said she fell down?

The second is [Do] you mean [to tell me that] you hit her?

Tenacious Learner · Answer

Thank you for everything and Happy New Year 2011.<img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/102.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/102.gif' alt='Emotion: shake hands'/>

BarbaraPA · Answer

Happy new year to you as well!

Tenacious Learner · Answer

One more to go

Susan: Well … I was in the centre of town. I was in a hurry, and …

Tom: Yes? Go on! What happened? What do you want to tell me?

Susan: A girl ran in front of me.

Tom: You mean … you mean …

Susan: Wait! Listen! The girl was a good distance away so I didn’t slow down.

This is the Reported Speech according to the previous conversation:

Susan told Tom that she had been driving in town and a girl had run in front of her, but that because she was a good distance away, Susan hadn't bothered to slow down.

Why do I have to use the underlined and bold ‘that’?

Is it obligatory or optional?

If it is obligatory, what is ‘that’ grammatically speaking?

Thanks in advance

BarbaraPA · Answer

It's not obligatory but it makes it clear that what follows is your restatement of what was said and not a direct quote.

Tenacious Learner · Answer

To whom it may concern:

Sorry it seems according to the post that it has been answered my question by Grammar Geek, but I can't see it.

Thanks a lot

Need Correction. Reported Speech.

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