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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
reported speech
Solving an exercise that asks to report several sentences, I came across these ones:
a)"I noticed the broken glass while I was eating."
Chris declared ___
My answer was : "Chris declared that he had noticed the broken glass while he had been eating."
b) "I thought I was right and you were wrong."
I told Harry ____
My answer: "I told Harry that I had thought I had been right and he had been wrong."
However, the key of exercise gives the following sentences as correct answers:
a)Chris declared that he had noticed the broken glass while he was eating.
b)I told Harry that I had thought I was right and he was wrong.
Could you explain why they do not backshift in time "was" in (a) and "was" and "were" in (b)
a)"I noticed the broken glass while I was eating."
Chris declared ___
My answer was : "Chris declared that he had noticed the broken glass while he had been eating."
b) "I thought I was right and you were wrong."
I told Harry ____
My answer: "I told Harry that I had thought I had been right and he had been wrong."
However, the key of exercise gives the following sentences as correct answers:
a)Chris declared that he had noticed the broken glass while he was eating.
b)I told Harry that I had thought I was right and he was wrong.
Could you explain why they do not backshift in time "was" in (a) and "was" and "were" in (b)
Top answer
" Chris declared that he had noticed the broken glass while he was eating . You don't need to convert the verb in the dependent clause; native speakers would not. " Same comment: retain simple past in the dependent clause.
- " Chris declared that he had noticed the broken glass while he was eating .
- You don't need to convert the verb in the dependent clause; native speakers would not.
- " Same comment: retain simple past in the dependent clause.
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1 Answers
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AnonymousMy answer was : "Chris declared that he had noticed the broken glass while he had been eating."Chris declared that he had noticed the broken glass while he was eating. You don't need to convert the verb in the dependent clause; native speakers would not.
AnonymousMy answer: "I told Harry that I had thought I had
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