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SJ88 Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Retention of subjunctive in reported speech
Hi everyone,
Is it right to retain the subjunctive mood when using reported speech?
He looks at me as if i were an idiot. --> He looked at me as if i were an idiot.
Please advise. Thanks!
SJ
Is it right to retain the subjunctive mood when using reported speech?
He looks at me as if i were an idiot. --> He looked at me as if i were an idiot.
Please advise. Thanks!
SJ
Top answer
Hi, Is it right to retain the subjunctive mood when using reported speech? He looks at me as if i were an idiot. --> He looked at me as if i were an idiot.
- Hi, Is it right to retain the subjunctive mood when using reported speech?
- He looks at me as if i were an idiot.
- --> He looked at me as if i were an idiot.
- This sentence is correct.
- But I see no indication of speech here.
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2 Answers
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Hi,
Is it right to retain the subjunctive mood when using reported speech?
He looks at me as if i were an idiot. --> He looked at me as if i were an idiot.This sentence is correct.
But I see no indication of speech here. Who says or said what? What were the actual words spoken?
Is it right to retain the subjunctive mood when using reported speech?
He looks at me as if i were an idiot. --> He looked at me as if i were an idiot.This sentence is correct.
But I see no indication of speech here. Who says or said what? What were the actual words spoken?
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Hey Clive, thanks for answering! Sorry about the "I"s haha.
I might have made a mistake calling it reported speech. I'm not sure what you call it, the past tense almost all novels are written in although technically it happens as you read. Basically I was just wondering if shifting a sentence from present tense to past tense would allow the subjunctive to remain.
I might have made a mistake calling it reported speech. I'm not sure what you call it, the past tense almost all novels are written in although technically it happens as you read. Basically I was just wondering if shifting a sentence from present tense to past tense would allow the subjunctive to remain.
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