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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
reported speech
0 Hi, 02 br
02 br
00 Let us say that I have attended a neighborhood meeting where concerned citizens gather and discuss a lot of civic issues. It could be a neighborhood meeting or any kind of meeting. Atter the meeting, I have to write a report to the those people who are interested in hearing what went on at the meeting. How should I word the reporting? Should I use the traditional method of "he said this and now, he said this"? 02 br
02 br
00 1. I have good news for you. John said that 01 u 00 it is 02 u 00 OK for us to walk at night after 11 o'clock because the streets are much safer now. 02 br
02 br
00 Do I have to say "it was OK for us to walk at night ..."? 02 br
02 br
00 2. I have good news for those who are city employees or have relatives who are one. John said there 01 u 00 will be 02 u 00 a pay hike for city employees starting June. 02 br
02 br
00 Do I have to say "there would be a pay hike for ..."? 02 br
02 br
00 3. I have good news for you. John said that 01 u 00 he is expecting 02 u 00 to see improvement in the city garbage disposal service. 02 br
02 br
00 Do I have to say "that he was expecting to see ..."? 02 br
02 br
00 4. Would it make any difference if I have to report the results of the meeting in person to a group of people?? 0-
02 br
00 Let us say that I have attended a neighborhood meeting where concerned citizens gather and discuss a lot of civic issues. It could be a neighborhood meeting or any kind of meeting. Atter the meeting, I have to write a report to the those people who are interested in hearing what went on at the meeting. How should I word the reporting? Should I use the traditional method of "he said this and now, he said this"? 02 br
02 br
00 1. I have good news for you. John said that 01 u 00 it is 02 u 00 OK for us to walk at night after 11 o'clock because the streets are much safer now. 02 br
02 br
00 Do I have to say "it was OK for us to walk at night ..."? 02 br
02 br
00 2. I have good news for those who are city employees or have relatives who are one. John said there 01 u 00 will be 02 u 00 a pay hike for city employees starting June. 02 br
02 br
00 Do I have to say "there would be a pay hike for ..."? 02 br
02 br
00 3. I have good news for you. John said that 01 u 00 he is expecting 02 u 00 to see improvement in the city garbage disposal service. 02 br
02 br
00 Do I have to say "that he was expecting to see ..."? 02 br
02 br
00 4. Would it make any difference if I have to report the results of the meeting in person to a group of people?? 0-
Top answer
, 3. Both OK for all three. Your first attempt is fine.
- , 3.
- Both OK for all three.
- Your first attempt is fine.
- 02 br 00 4.
- 02 br 00 CJ 0-
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5 Answers
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0 1., 2., 3. Both OK for all three. Your first attempt is fine. I wouldn't change it. 02 br
00 4. It wouldn't make any difference, no. 02 br
00 CJ 0-
00 4. It wouldn't make any difference, no. 02 br
00 CJ 0-
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0 1. I have good news for you. John said that 01 u 00 it is 02 u 00 OK for us to walk at night after 11 o'clock because the streets are much safer now. 02 br
02 br
00 Do I have to say "it was OK for us to walk at night ..."? 01 b 00 Yes 02 b 02 br
02 br
00 2. I have good news for those who are city employees or have relatives who
02 br
00 Do I have to say "it was OK for us to walk at night ..."? 01 b 00 Yes 02 b 02 br
02 br
00 2. I have good news for those who are city employees or have relatives who
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0 I would advise you STRONGLY to use the 01 i 00 reported that... 02 i 00 and 01 i 00 said that a pay hike is... 02 i 02 br
02 br
00 I've never seen minutes of a meeting that use 01 i 00 He said, "The streets are safer now." 02 i 02 br
02 br
00 For #3, say "John reported that he expect improvements in ..." 02 br
02 br
00 I've never seen minutes of a meeting that use 01 i 00 He said, "The streets are safer now." 02 i 02 br
02 br
00 For #3, say "John reported that he expect improvements in ..." 02 br
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0 Thank you, everyone. 02 br
02 br
00 Would you say the secret is in this? 02 br
02 br
00 When we are reporting something that was said in the past but is still true, the choice to make a tense change is up to the speaker. 02 br
02 br
00 eg, John said coins are made of metal. 02 br
02 br
00 But sometimes, it hard to see if somethin
02 br
00 Would you say the secret is in this? 02 br
02 br
00 When we are reporting something that was said in the past but is still true, the choice to make a tense change is up to the speaker. 02 br
02 br
00 eg, John said coins are made of metal. 02 br
02 br
00 But sometimes, it hard to see if somethin
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0 No, the secret is that the English prefer tense parallelism: 01 b 00 past wants past 02 b 00 . Only very rarely do they change from that, when you 01 b 00 really 02 b 00 want to emphasize the statement is still valid. 0-
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