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Virginia274 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Reported speeches...
Hi,
What would be the correct reported speech for each of these examples:
1-"There is a bank down the street."
She said there was a bank down the street.
Or
She said there is a bank down the street.
2-"Was the movie scary?"
The children asked me if the movie was scary.
Or
The children asked me if the movie had been scary.
3-"We didn't take the 8:00 train."
They told me they didn't take the 8:00 train.
Or
They told me they hadn't taken the 8:00 train.
Thanks in advance.
What would be the correct reported speech for each of these examples:
1-"There is a bank down the street."
She said there was a bank down the street.
Or
She said there is a bank down the street.
2-"Was the movie scary?"
The children asked me if the movie was scary.
Or
The children asked me if the movie had been scary.
3-"We didn't take the 8:00 train."
They told me they didn't take the 8:00 train.
Or
They told me they hadn't taken the 8:00 train.
Thanks in advance.
Top answer
1. g. you are going to visit it) then you can use "is".
- 1.
- g.
- you are going to visit it) then you can use "is".
- Otherwise, use "was".
- 2.
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2 Answers
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1. If the existence of the bank is especially relevant to the present situation (e.g. you are going to visit it) then you can use "is". Otherwise, use "was".
2. "had been" suggests that the question was focused on the person's experience when they watched the movie on some particular occasion. If the question was more about the general properties of the movie, or the speaker doesn't know
2. "had been" suggests that the question was focused on the person's experience when they watched the movie on some particular occasion. If the question was more about the general properties of the movie, or the speaker doesn't know
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