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What are the most common mistakes made when using indirect speech in English grammar?

Carter Parades

Indirect speech can be tricky! Here are some common mistakes that people make when they use it in English grammar.

First, people often forget to change the verbs from the original sentence. For example, if someone says "I am going to the store," and we want to report it using indirect speech, we need to change "am going" to "was going" because we are talking about the past. So the correct sentence in indirect speech would be "He said that he was going to the store."

Secondly, people sometimes forget to change pronouns. In indirect speech, we need to change the pronouns to match the subject of the sentence. For example, if someone says "I like pizza," and we want to report it using indirect speech, we need to change "I" to "he" or "she" or "they" depending on who we are reporting the information to. So the correct sentence in indirect speech would be "She said that she likes pizza."

Thirdly, people sometimes mess up the order of the words in the sentence. In indirect speech, we need to rearrange the sentence so that it makes sense. For example, if someone says "I will see you tomorrow," and we want to report it using indirect speech, we need to rearrange the sentence to say "He said that he would see me tomorrow."

Finally, people often forget to change the tense. In indirect speech, we need to change the verb tense to match the time of the original sentence. For example, if someone says "I have never been to New York," and we want to report it using indirect speech, we need to change "have never been" to "had never been" because we are talking about the past. So the correct sentence in indirect speech would be "She said that she had never been to New York."

So, when using indirect speech, it's important to remember to change the verbs, pronouns, word order, and tense. With practice, we can get better at using indirect speech correctly in English grammar!