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Tenacious Learner Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Reported speech: the conjunction 'that'.
Hi teachers,
In reported speech the conjunction 'that' is optional with the verbs, 'said, told, asked, and thought', and somehow it is better to use it with the verb 'answered'. Am I correct?
Thanks in advance
In reported speech the conjunction 'that' is optional with the verbs, 'said, told, asked, and thought', and somehow it is better to use it with the verb 'answered'. Am I correct?
Thanks in advance
Top answer
Hi, It's not a matter of better or not. Sometimes you'll find yourself using "that", but sometimes you'll simply omit it. I would say that it depends on the mood and context.
- Hi, It's not a matter of better or not.
- Sometimes you'll find yourself using "that", but sometimes you'll simply omit it.
- I would say that it depends on the mood and context.
- However, you can't even give a vague rule to determine whether to use "that" or not.
- I agree, however, that this word is often omitted in colloquial / informal language.
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3 Answers
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Hi,
It's not a matter of better or not. Sometimes you'll find yourself using "that", but sometimes you'll simply omit it. I would say that it depends on the mood and context. However, you can't even give a vague rule to determine whether to use "that" or not. I agree, however, that this word is often omitted in colloquial / informal language.
She told me she was tired.
S
It's not a matter of better or not. Sometimes you'll find yourself using "that", but sometimes you'll simply omit it. I would say that it depends on the mood and context. However, you can't even give a vague rule to determine whether to use "that" or not. I agree, however, that this word is often omitted in colloquial / informal language.
She told me she was tired.
S
00
Hi,
Thank you very much for your reply. I was trying to make a rule out of it, but I can see that it is not possible. Not only because of you answer, CalifJim, another teacher here, has helped me too in this matter. Sometimes I'm too stubborn and I keep asking the same thing in different ways.
Thank you very much for your reply. I was trying to make a rule out of it, but I can see that it is not possible. Not only because of you answer, CalifJim, another teacher here, has helped me too in this matter. Sometimes I'm too stubborn and I keep asking the same thing in different ways.
00
Hi,
Thank you very much for your reply. I was trying to make a rule out of it, but I can see that it is not possible. Not only because of you answer, CalifJim, another teacher here, has helped me too in this matter. Sometimes I'm too stubborn and I keep asking the same thing in different ways.
Thank you very much for your reply. I was trying to make a rule out of it, but I can see that it is not possible. Not only because of you answer, CalifJim, another teacher here, has helped me too in this matter. Sometimes I'm too stubborn and I keep asking the same thing in different ways.
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