0
EnglishSmith Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Nigel admitted (stealing/he stole) the lady's bag
Greetings all,
In the ESL book I have, the question is to write the reported version of this sentence: I stole the lady's bag
The book's answer: "Nigel admitted he stole/had stolen the lady's bag"
However, in the book it says use verb+ing with the reporting verb "admit", and as a tip you can use that-clause with the verb.
The book usually give more than one answer to questions that have different ways of answering them. So what's the big idea? Is it more common to use a that clause with admit or what?
#cross-posted
In the ESL book I have, the question is to write the reported version of this sentence: I stole the lady's bag
The book's answer: "Nigel admitted he stole/had stolen the lady's bag"
However, in the book it says use verb+ing with the reporting verb "admit", and as a tip you can use that-clause with the verb.
The book usually give more than one answer to questions that have different ways of answering them. So what's the big idea? Is it more common to use a that clause with admit or what?
#cross-posted
Top answer
" For a past report, you shift the person from first to third, and you back shift the time so it's consonant with the time of the report. " You could also say, "Nigel admitted to stealing the lady's handbag," but "that" isn't involved.
- " For a past report, you shift the person from first to third, and you back shift the time so it's consonant with the time of the report.
- " You could also say, "Nigel admitted to stealing the lady's handbag," but "that" isn't involved.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
1 Answers
0
Presumably Nigel said, "I stole the lady's handbag." For a past report, you shift the person from first to third, and you back shift the time so it's consonant with the time of the report. The book has given you two possibilities, past and past perfect and elided the "that" after "admitted." You could also say, "Nigel admitted to stealing the lady's handbag," but "that" isn't involved.
0
Related Questions