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reported statements



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Use Past Simple in the sentence 'Yesterday we watched TV for hours' | Construction: to be in place
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reported statements #1 (permalink) Wed Feb 25, 2009 19:56 pm   reported statements
 

hello this is nina I have two questions about reported speech that I'm actually confused about them firstly does the statement ( she told me"you are very kind ") accept both (she told me I was very kind) and (she told me Iam very kind) ?
secondly in the imperative when the reporting verb is in the present simple like in ( he prohibits them"don't play here" ) does the time expression "here" cange to "there" in reported statement or it remains unchanged? thank you very much
Ninay
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reported statements #2 (permalink) Wed Feb 25, 2009 21:10 pm   reported statements
 

When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.

For example:

"I'm going to the cinema", he said. — He said he was going to the cinema.

She told me, "You are very kind."
She told me I was very kind.
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reported statements #3 (permalink) Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:05 am   reported statements
 

In addition, local ("here", "there") references usually change, too. There is considerable freedom, however, if the statement is about a situation that was the case not only then but now as well, or if the statement was a general one.
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