0
Elviajero Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Reported speech - a question

0 Which one of the following is correct? 02br
02br
001. The person we met at the mall yesterday is my cousin. 02br
002. The person we met at the mall yesterday was my cousin. 02br
02br
00I remember learning at the school that we're supposed to use present forms in reported speech only when the reported action is a habitual action or a universal truth. Does it apply to relationships also? For example, look at the following sentences: 02br
02br
003. I told her that she is my sister. 02br
004. I told her that she was my sister. 02br
02br
00Please clarify. Thank you. 02br
02br
00(As I was about to post this, I got another doubt. In my explanation above, should it be "learning at the school", "learning in the school", "learning at school" or "learning in school"? Thanks again.) 0-
  

Top answer

0Add to your list of 'habitual action' and 'universal truth' the concept of 'still true at the moment of reporting'. The person remains a cousin or sister of the speaker at the time of the report; either form of both sentences is OK. 02br 02br 00'Learning at/in school'.

— Mister Micawber

  • 0Add to your list of 'habitual action' and 'universal truth' the concept of 'still true at the moment of reporting'.
  • The person remains a cousin or sister of the speaker at the time of the report; either form of both sentences is OK.
  • 02br 02br 00'Learning at/in school'.
  • 0-
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

5 Answers
0
0Add to your list of 'habitual action' and 'universal truth' the concept of 'still true at the moment of reporting'. The person remains a cousin or sister of the speaker at the time of the report; either form of both sentences is OK. 02br
02br
00'Learning at/in school'. 0-
0
0
0 Thanks a ton, Mr Micawber for the almost instant response. So nice of you! Digressing a bit from this post's topic, can I ask you one more question? Could you please tell me when and when not to omit "the" before nouns? 0-
0
0
0I presume you mean no indefinite article 'a' either, Elviajero? That leaves us with: 02br
02br
00(1) unspecified plurals: 'I love cats'; 02br
00(2) nouns modified by a possessive, demonstrative, quantifier, etc: 'some/my/this/those cat/cats. 02br
02br
02br
00They are likely to be some other cases that I have forgotten. 0-
0
0
0 Thank you again. You have been very helpful. When you find time, please add anything else you think you've missed here. I'll appreciate it much! 0-
0
0
0California Jim has kindly reminded me that I didn't address the other half of your question: when 01b00not02b00 to omit 'the'. 02br
02br
00Well, since nothing else significant crosses my mind at the moment, I suggest that 'the' should always be used (aside from the exceptions mentioned in my 1 & 2 above) every time you speak of a specific individual o
0

Related Questions