Reported speech:present continuous for future meaning
Hi,
please, how is it with present continuous used for arranged future in statements, when turned into reported speech. Do you use past continuous or would? Or are both possible?
An example exercise from a textbook: (solutions from the key are in brackets)
Rewrite what Emma says using the correct time expressions.
1) We nearly moved house last year. (Emma said that they had nearly moved house the year before.)
2) Last month we bought a new house. (Emma said that they had bought a new house the month before.)
3) We packed our books into boxes yesterday. (She said that they had packed their books into boxes the day before.)
4) Today we are moving the furniture. (She said that they were moving the furniture that day.)
5) Tonight we are sleeping in our new bedroom. (She said that that night they would be sleeping in their new bedrrom.)
6) We're having a house-warming party next week. (She said that they were having a house-warming party the next week.)
In sentence 5 they used "would" in sentence 6 they used "past continuous". I mean, it makes sence (sentence 5), in terms of the meaning of the sentence, it just sticks out from the rules that are taught in the lesson.
Thank you for your thoughts on that.
Top answer
radovan it just sticks out from the rules that are taught in the lesson. It's not unusual to find that the authors and editors did not proofread as well as they should have. Change "would be sleeping" to "were sleeping", and all will be well.
- radovan it just sticks out from the rules that are taught in the lesson.
- It's not unusual to find that the authors and editors did not proofread as well as they should have.
- Change "would be sleeping" to "were sleeping", and all will be well.
- ) CJ
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radovan it just sticks out from the rules that are taught in the lesson.
It's not unusual to find that the authors and editors did not proofread as well as they should have.
Change "would be sleeping" to "were sleeping", and all will be well.
("would" is used in indirect speech for "will" in the direct form.)
CJ
0Hi there!
I'm struggling with all this regarding "would be doing or not would be doing".
I know, after researching for a while, very book takes the "present continuous=past continuous" option as the only one available, but even if so... When and how is it possible to use the "would be going" option when reporting present continuous future plans?
Does it have an
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