I have 02 questions on applying the rules of Reported Speech. What is your opinion? Hi friends, My question is on applying the rules of Reported Speech. I have 02 questions: 1. Is it incorrect if I

Niwantha

I have 02 questions on applying the rules of Reported Speech. What is your opinion? Hi friends, My question is on applying the rules of Reported Speech. I have 02 questions: 1. Is it incorrect if I don't apply those rules when talking to someone (in spoken English)? e.g. My brother said that he is coming tomorrow. Vs. My brother said that he was coming tomorrow. 2. Is it incorrect if I don't use the rules of Reported Speech in official emails (Written English)? e.g. The Finance Manager told me that she is not aware of this new process. Vs. The Finance Manager told me that she was not aware of this new process. Thanks in advance! Niwantha

Nov 2, 2018 5:31 AM

Answers · 8

1-My Brother said that he IS coming tomorrow. Since you are talking about tomorrow you can't say was coming tomorrow. For number two: It depends, are you trying to inform the recipient that your manager doesn't know what the new process is about, or are you telling them that your manager didn't know what the new process is and now she does. I'm guessing you meant to say that your manager has no idea what the new process is, so in that case, the first example would be accurate. Hope this helps.

November 2, 2018

Both are grammatically correct for reported speech but has different meanings! My brother said that he is coming tomorrow. --- This means that he will be performing the action to be done tomorrow. My brother said that he was coming tomorrow. -- This reported speech means that tomorrow had come and gone but the brother did not show up. In the manager example, using present tense means that it is still a fact. She is still not aware. The past tense case meant that at first she wasn't aware but now she IS aware of it.

November 2, 2018

The 'rules' are nonsense, like lots of 'rules' in English. Everything depends on the time of speaking and the situation: Is it the same now: 'he said he's coming' Is it different now: 'he said he was coming..' Is it still open now now - present 'he said he is..' is it a closed issue now - the past 'he said he was..' :)

November 2, 2018

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