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Necrophagist Posted 8 years ago
Grammar
Was supposed to + reported speech
You were supposed to bring it here.
He said that I had been (?) supposed to bring it there.
No matter how I look at it, it seems wrong. Any other way to report "was/were supposed to do sth"?
Top answer
Necrophagist You were supposed to bring it here. He/She/I said you were supposed to bring it here/there. Some idioms occur only in the present or past tense.
- Necrophagist You were supposed to bring it here.
- He/She/I said you were supposed to bring it here/there.
- Some idioms occur only in the present or past tense.
- You can't backshift them beyond the past tense.
- Well, you can, but they sound awful to natives' ears, so we don't do it.
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1 Answers
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NecrophagistYou were supposed to bring it here.
He/She/I said you were supposed to bring it here/there.
Some idioms occur only in the present or past tense. You can't backshift them beyond the past tense.
Well, you can, but they sound awful to natives' ears, so we don't do it.
She said that it had been bound to happen eventually
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