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  • Back to school: reported speech

    From Anton Shepelev@2:221/6 to All on Thu Aug 5 13:45:54 2021
    I am still not entirely comfortable with reported speech in
    English. Consider, for example, the following fragment from
    a later Conan novel:

    Conan to Publio:
    I want to know if a Zingaran named Beloso, or he might call
    himself anything, is in this city. He's tall and lean and dark
    like all his race, and it's likely he'll seek to sell a very rare
    jewel.

    Publio to spies (later):
    Send your men into the markets and wharfside dives and learn if
    one Beloso, a Zingaran, is in Messantia. Conan said he had a gem,
    which he will probably seek to dispose of.

    Publio back-shifted `have' into `had', but kept the present tense of
    `will'*. Why? If Conan's information about Beloso's posession of the
    gem deserves a degree of remotentess exressed by the past tense,
    why not give like treatment to his words about the intent of Beloso
    to sell it, i.e.:

    Conan said he had a gem, which he would probably seek to dispse
    of.

    * I here treat `will' as a verb in the present tense,
    and `would' as its past form. Your terminology may vary.

    ---
    * Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)
  • From Anton Shepelev@2:221/6 to Anton Shepelev on Thu Aug 5 17:00:16 2021
    I wrote:

    Conan to Publio:
    I want to know if a Zingaran named Beloso, or he might call
    himself anything, is in this city. He's tall and lean and dark
    like all his race, and it's likely he'll seek to sell a very
    rare jewel.

    Publio to spies (later):
    Send your men into the markets and wharfside dives and learn if
    one Beloso, a Zingaran, is in Messantia. Conan said he had a
    gem, which he will probably seek to dispose of.

    I have come up with the following interpretation:

    1. Conan said he had a gem (reported speech).
    2. [If Conan's words be true] he will probably seek to dispose of
    it. (direct speech)

    That is -- the conclusion is Publio's own, although it repeats
    Conan's.

    P.S.: I am writing from the e-mail client on my Raspberry Pi, and
    cannot format my messages according to FidoNet standards. Let
    me know you would rather that I had better (if I may utter
    such a monstrosity) wait till I can post in the traditional
    style.

    ---
    * Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)
  • From Alexander Koryagin@2:221/6 to Anton Shepelev on Thu Aug 5 18:43:50 2021
    Hi, Anton Shepelev! -> All
    I read your message from 05.08.2021 13:45

    -----Beginning of the citation-----
    Publio to spies (later):
    Send your men into the markets and wharfside dives and learn if
    one Beloso, a Zingaran, is in Messantia. Conan said he had a gem,
    which he will probably seek to dispose of.
    ----- The end of the citation -----

    Publio back-shifted `have' into `had', but kept the present tense
    of `will'*. Why? If Conan's information about Beloso's posession of
    the gem deserves a degree of remotentess exressed by the past
    tense, why not give like treatment to his words about the intent of
    Beloso to sell it, i.e.:

    Conan said he had a gem, which he would probably seek to dispse of.

    IMHO, "which he will probably seek to dispose of" doesn't belong to
    Conan, and, therefore, there is no need for the time switch.

    Bye, Anton!
    Alexander Koryagin
    english_tutor 2021

    ---
    * Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)