Speech

Heath   Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:33 pm GMT
Hi..I have some questions about Englsh grammar..
<1>
I practiced changing direct speech to reported speech.
For example, He said to me, 'I'm going to be late.'
to change it to reported speech, it could be 'He told me that he was going to be late.'
But i wonder if 'He said to me that he was going to be late' is also grammatically correct.
Do I have to change 'said to me' in the direct speech to 'told me' in the reported speech?
I think 'said to me' in the direct speech is likely to be correct in grammar as well as meaning
What do you think?

<2>Which is better?
①Today we're going to study 'the passive'
②Today we're going to learn 'the passive'.
I heard that language is not studied but learned..
so when we talk about grammar, which is better, 'learn grammar' or 'study grammar'?

<3> What is the difference between them?
①Have you ever considered going to live in another country?
②Have you ever considered going to live in other country?
I wonder if they are the same or different..

<4>What is the difference between them?
① It has started raining.
② It started raining.

<5> what does 'Don't bother locking the door' mean?
It means "Be sure to lock the door" or "you don't have to lock the door and it doesn't matter" ?

Thank you for reading..
Uriel   Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:16 am GMT
Hi..I have some questions about Englsh grammar..
<1>
I practiced changing direct speech to reported speech.
For example, He said to me, 'I'm going to be late.'
to change it to reported speech, it could be 'He told me that he was going to be late.'
But i wonder if 'He said to me that he was going to be late' is also grammatically correct.

Yes.

Do I have to change 'said to me' in the direct speech to 'told me' in the reported speech?

No. You can you any number of synonyms like "declared that", "assured me", "mentioned", etc.


<2>Which is better?
①Today we're going to study 'the passive'
②Today we're going to learn 'the passive'.
I heard that language is not studied but learned..
so when we talk about grammar, which is better, 'learn grammar' or 'study grammar'?

Either way. Neither is "more correct".

<3> What is the difference between them?
①Have you ever considered going to live in another country?
②Have you ever considered going to live in other country?
I wonder if they are the same or different..

It's always "another", never just "other". Another is just "an other" made into a single word, and in that sentence, you need an article in front of "other", and "another" suffices.


<4>What is the difference between them?
① It has started raining.
② It started raining.

Different verb tenses, that's all.

<5> what does 'Don't bother locking the door' mean?
It means "Be sure to lock the door" or "you don't have to lock the door and it doesn't matter" ?

To "bother" to do something is to make an effort to do it, or to go out of your way. So it means "Don't make the effort to lock the door; it's not worth doing."
Heath   Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:26 am GMT
Thanks for your answer.