Reported speech...

Question

OK people, please help me. I have this weird grammar book that has exercises which require to turn direct into reported speech. And I need to ask you about some sentences.
1."Don't you feel like you're being watched?" he asked. - Grammar answer = He asked me if I didn't feel like I was being watched.
My opinion - He asked me if I felt like I was being watched.
2. "Is she telling the truth?" I wondered. - Grammar answer = I wondered whether she was telling the truth.
My opinion - I wondered if she was telling the truth.
3. "Will you be ready by five o'clock?" they wanted to know. - Grammar answer = They wanted to know whether I would be ready by five o'clock.
My opinion - They wanted to know if I would be ready by five o'clock.
4. "How often do you go on holiday?" he asked. - Grammar answer = He asked how often I went on holiday.
My opinion - He asked me how often I did go on holiday./He asked me how often I went onholiday.
So my question is am I right in my opinion?

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

Madhulk OK people, please help me. I have this weird grammar book that has exercises which require to turn direct into reported speech. And I need to ask you about some sentences.
1."Don't you feel like you're being watched?" he asked. - Grammar answer = He asked me if I didn't feel like I was being watched. OK

My opinion - He asked me if I felt like I was being watched. No, because the original is a negative question with not.

2. "Is she telling the truth?" I wondered. - Grammar answer = I wondered whether she was telling the truth. OK

My opinion - I wondered if she was telling the truth. OK
3. "Will you be ready by five o'clock?" they wanted to know. - Grammar answer = They wanted to know whether I would be ready by five o'clock. OK
My opinion - They wanted to know if I would be ready by five o'clock. OK
4. "How often do you go on holiday?" he asked. - Grammar answer = He asked how often I went on holiday. OK

My opinion - He asked me how often I did go on holiday./He asked me how often I went onholiday. The latter one is grammatical if you separate on from holiday. Me is not needed.

So my question is am I right in my opinion?

CB

Clive · Answer

Hi,

If you want to get more technical about this exercise, you might word it thus.

1."Don't you feel like you're being watched?" he asked. - Grammar answer = He asked someone if he or she didn't feel like he or she was being watched.

In other words, you are making an assumption in your version that the person was speaking to you.

Best wishes, Clive

Madhulk · Answer

Yeah I know it looks like the person was speaking to me. I'll put it this way. My question is are the underlined parts replaceable? I mean is my version (My opinion) also correct?

Clive · Answer

Hi,

I agree with CB.

Clive

Madhulk · Answer

Cool Breeze
Madhulk OK people, please help me. I have this weird grammar book that has exercises which require to turn direct into reported speech. And I need to ask you about some sentences.
1."Don't you feel like you're being watched?" he asked. - Grammar answer = He asked me if I didn't feel like I was being watched. OK

My opinion - He asked me if I felt like I was being watched. No, because the original is a negative question with not.

OK. But if the sentence was "Do you feel like you're being watched?" he asked. Then can I report it like this? (He asked me if I felt like I was being watched.)
CB

Anonymous · Answer

0 he"ll be indebted to me 0-

Clive · Answer

0 Hi,02br
00he"ll be indebted to me01u01i00 Don't forget a capital letter and a period.02br
02i02u02br
00He said that the person would be indebted to him.02br
02br
00Best wishes, Clive 0-

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