Tenses in reported speech??

Question

Which one below is correct or incorrect? I often have headache when using tenses in reported speech.

A. He said the sun rises in the east

B. He said the sun rose in the east.

C. He told me that the device is useless

D. He told me that the device was useless

(For C and D, the device is NOW still useless)

I am not pretty sure, but I think A is correct, B is incorrect. However, I don't know about C and D.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

kenny1999Which one below is correct or incorrect? I often have headache when using tenses in reported speech.

So do native speakers. Use what makes the best sense, but when in doubt, backshift because logic takes a back seat in this matter.

kenny1999I am not pretty sure, but I think A is correct, B is incorrect.

That's how I see it. That the sun rises in the east is a general statement.

kenny1999I don't know about C and D.

"Was". He couldn't have known that it would still be useless now, but that hardly matters. "Was" sounds more natural.

CalifJim · Answer

All four are possible.

According to some grammarians, backshifting is always correct, so that makes B and D correct because said and rose are both in the past and because told and was are both in the past. (That's backshifting.)

However, because most people accept it as "an eternal truth" that the sun rises in the east, A is also possible.

And lastly, because "he" may have told you about the device during the same situation in which you are reporting what he said, you can use C. In other words, if the report occurs immediately after the original utterance, you don't have to backshift.

Here's what "during the same situation" means.

You have a device that you believe needs to be fixed. You don't know much about it, though, so you ask a friend to go with you to the hardware store so he can explain the situation. While you wait in another part of the store, your friend approaches the expert at the store and asks what can be done to make the device work. The expert says, "Don't waste your money trying to fix it. It's too damaged. It's useless." Your friend reports back to you, "He said the device is useless. It's not worth fixing."

(He said the device was useless is equally correct in that situation.)

CJ

Tenses in reported speech??

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