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English 1b3 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Reported Speech and Complicated sentence

"Matt heard from his Mom, who heard from Chris, that Geoff is taking Nick on a trip because they don't know how long Nick has to live," I said.

Is this the best way to write this (assuming all facts are needed)?

When do we ever need to use the present tense 'I say/he says/etc'? It is always something said in the past...

Thanks
  

Top answer

I presume you are talking about the matrix clause, 'I said', only? Yes, that is fine. 'Say/says' appears in 'historical/narrative/journalistic present'.

— Mister Micawber

  • I presume you are talking about the matrix clause, 'I said', only?
  • Yes, that is fine.
  • 'Say/says' appears in 'historical/narrative/journalistic present'.
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6 Answers
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I presume you are talking about the matrix clause, 'I said', only? Yes, that is fine. 'Say/says' appears in 'historical/narrative/journalistic present'.
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Mister MicawberI presume you are talking about the matrix clause, 'I said', only?

Sorry, no, the first question concerns the entire sentence. I thought there may be a clearer way to say it.
Mister Micawber'Say/says' appears in 'historical/narrative/journalistic present'.
Interesting. I understand that the historic pres
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-- I think the historical present is common enough in some genres of light fiction.

-- As for the original clause ('Matt heard from his mom, who heard it from Chris, that Geoff is taking Nick on a trip because they don't know how long Nick has to live'): with those 2 changes, I guess it's about the best that can be done with that.
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Mister Micawber('Matt heard from his mom, who heard it from Chris, that Geoff is taking Nick on a trip because they don't know how long Nick has to live'):

Why have you made the first 'heard' intransitive' while the second transitive?

Thanks for picking up the incorrect capitalization. I forget what needs to be capitalized sometimes.
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I inserted 'it' to loosen that clause up from the sequence, so that the reader doesn't get so dizzy in the journey from Matt to Nick.
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Mister MicawberI inserted 'it' to loosen that clause up from the sequence, so that the reader doesn't get so dizzy in the journey from Matt to Nick.

Clever idea. Thanks.
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