4-1 4-1 SEQUENCE OF TENSES IN NOUN CLAUSES (1) SEQUENCE OF TENSES IN NOUN CLAUSES (1)

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A noun clause consists of a subject and predicate that A noun clause consists of a subject and predicate that functions as a noun. One of its most common functions as a noun. One of its most common functions is as the object of a verb, especially of a functions is as the object of a verb, especially of a verb of asserting or mental activity. If such a verb is verb of asserting or mental activity. If such a verb is in the past tense, the verb in the noun clause object in the past tense, the verb in the noun clause object takes past form also. takes past form also.

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A. Indirect Speech-Noun Clauses from A. Indirect Speech-Noun Clauses from Statements Statements

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Present Main Verb Present Main Verb (No Sequence of Tenses) He says (that): (No Sequence of Tenses) He says (that): The train always arrives late. The train always arrives late. The train is arriving. The train is arriving. The train arrived late. The train arrived late. The train has just arrived. The train has just arrived. The train will arrive soon. The train will arrive soon. The train may be arriving soon. The train may be arriving soon.

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Past Main Verb Past Main Verb (Sequence of Tenses) (Sequence of Tenses) He said (that): He said (that): The train always arrived late. The train always arrived late. The train was arriving. The train was arriving. The train had arrived late. The train had arrived late. The train had just arrived. The train had just arrived. The train would arrive soon. The train would arrive soon. The train might be arriving soon. The train might be arriving soon.

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ThatThat is omitted in informal usage. The present tense is omitted in informal usage. The present tense may be retained in a may be retained in a thatthat clause objectclause object expressing a expressing a generalization (He said that the train always arrives generalization (He said that the train always arrives late.) late.)

No comma precedes or follows a noun clause. No comma precedes or follows a noun clause.

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Change the following sentences to indirect Change the following sentences to indirect speech. Observe the sequence of tenses. Make speech. Observe the sequence of tenses. Make the necessary changes in pronouns. the necessary changes in pronouns.

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EXAMPLE: He said,EXAMPLE: He said,““I need more timeI need more time to get ready.to get ready.” ”

• He said [that] he needed more time to get ready. He said [that] he needed more time to get ready.

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1. He said,1. He said,““They have already finished the worThey have already finished the work.k.” ”

• He said [that] they had already finished the He said [that] they had already finished the work.work.

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2. He said,2. He said,““Construction on your house will Construction on your house will begin as soon as the lumber arrives.begin as soon as the lumber arrives.” ”

• He said [that] construction on our house He said [that] construction on our house would begin as soon as the lumber would begin as soon as the lumber arrived.arrived.

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3. The technician said,3. The technician said,““The laboratory has The laboratory has already sent in the report.already sent in the report.” ”

• The technician said [that] the laboratory The technician said [that] the laboratory had already sent in the report.had already sent in the report.

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4. The mechanic said,4. The mechanic said,““Your car is repaired and Your car is repaired and you can pick it up at the garage at any time.you can pick it up at the garage at any time.” ”

• The mechanic said [that] my car was The mechanic said [that] my car was repaired and [that] I could pick it up at the repaired and [that] I could pick it up at the garage at any time.garage at any time.

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5. She said,5. She said,““We are planning a farewell party for We are planning a farewell party for our two guests.our two guests.” ”

• She said [that] they were planning a She said [that] they were planning a farewell party for their two guests.farewell party for their two guests.

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6. He said,6. He said,””I will meet you at the airport I will meet you at the airport whenever you wish.whenever you wish.” ”

• He said [that] he would meet us [He said [that] he would meet us [oror me] at me] at the airport whenever we [or I] wished.the airport whenever we [or I] wished.

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7. Our visitor said,7. Our visitor said,““It rains a great deal in my It rains a great deal in my country.country.” ”

• Our visitor said [that] it rained a great deal Our visitor said [that] it rained a great deal in his [in his [oror her] country. her] country.

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8. He said,8. He said,““The weather is so bad that I won't go The weather is so bad that I won't go out at all.out at all.” ”

• He said [that] the weather was so bad that He said [that] the weather was so bad that he wouldn’t go out at all.he wouldn’t go out at all.

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9. The gardener said,9. The gardener said,““The bushes should be The bushes should be trimmed once a month.trimmed once a month.” ”

• The gardener said [that] the bushes The gardener said [that] the bushes should be trimmed once a month.should be trimmed once a month.

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10. She said,10. She said,““My parents live too far away for My parents live too far away for me to visit them often.me to visit them often.” ”

• She said [that] her parents lived too far She said [that] her parents lived too far away for her to visit them often.away for her to visit them often.

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11. He said,11. He said,““I would like to see a good movie but I would like to see a good movie but I don't see anything in the paper that interests I don't see anything in the paper that interests me.me.” ”

• He said [that] he would like to see a good He said [that] he would like to see a good movie but [that] he didn’t see anything in movie but [that] he didn’t see anything in the paper that interested him.the paper that interested him.

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Indirect Speech Indirect Speech

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Noun Clauses from Questions Noun Clauses from Questions

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Change to indirect speech. Observe the Change to indirect speech. Observe the sequence of tenses and make the necessary sequence of tenses and make the necessary changes in pronouns. changes in pronouns. Use a period at the end of the sentence. Use a period at the end of the sentence.

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EXAMPLE: He asked me,EXAMPLE: He asked me,““Does the train always Does the train always arrive late?arrive late?””

• He asked me whether (He asked me whether (or informal or informal if) the train if) the train always arrived late. always arrived late.

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1. He asked me,1. He asked me,““Will the report be ready soon?Will the report be ready soon?” ”

• He asked me whether [He asked me whether [oror if] the report if] the report would be ready soon.would be ready soon.

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2. He asked me,2. He asked me,““Has anyone found the missing Has anyone found the missing dog?dog?” ”

• He asked me whether [He asked me whether [oror if] anyone [had] if] anyone [had] found the missing dog.found the missing dog.

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3. He asked me,3. He asked me,““What is your name?What is your name?” ”

• He asked me what my name was.He asked me what my name was.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me what was my name.*He asked me what was my name.

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4. He asked me,4. He asked me,““What color do you want?What color do you want?” ”

• He asked me what color I wanted.He asked me what color I wanted.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me what color did I want?*He asked me what color did I want?

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5. He asked me,5. He asked me,““How much does this umbrella How much does this umbrella cost?cost?” ”

• He asked me how much this umbrella He asked me how much this umbrella cost.cost.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me how much did this umbrella *He asked me how much did this umbrella cost?cost?

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6. He asked me,6. He asked me,““Can you cook?Can you cook?” ”

• He asked me whether [He asked me whether [oror if] I could cook. if] I could cook.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me could I cook?*He asked me could I cook?

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7. He asked me,7. He asked me,““Would you preferWould you prefer to see a to see a movie or a play?movie or a play?” ”

• He asked me if I would prefer to see a He asked me if I would prefer to see a movie or a play.movie or a play.

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8. He asked me,8. He asked me,““Where is the post office?”Where is the post office?”

• He asked me where the post office was.He asked me where the post office was.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• He asked me where was the post office?He asked me where was the post office?

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9. He asked me,9. He asked me,““Why didn't you answer when I Why didn't you answer when I called you?”called you?”

• He asked me why I didn’t answer when he He asked me why I didn’t answer when he called me.called me.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me why didn’t I answer when *He asked me why didn’t I answer when he called me?he called me?

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10. He asked me,10. He asked me,““Who was hurt in the accidenWho was hurt in the accident?t?” ”

• He asked me who was hurt in the He asked me who was hurt in the accident.accident.

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11. He asked me,11. He asked me,““Can anyone enter the Can anyone enter the contest?”contest?”

• He asked me whether [He asked me whether [oror if] anyone could if] anyone could enter the contest.enter the contest.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me could anyone enter the *He asked me could anyone enter the contest?contest?

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12. He asked me,12. He asked me,““When are they leaving for When are they leaving for Chicago?”Chicago?”

• He asked me when they were leaving for He asked me when they were leaving for Chicago.Chicago.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me when were they leaving for *He asked me when were they leaving for Chicago?Chicago?

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13. He asked me,13. He asked me,““Is the bus non-stop?Is the bus non-stop?” ”

• He asked me whether [or He asked me whether [or ifif] the bus was ] the bus was non-stop.non-stop.

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14. He asked me,14. He asked me,““Have you ever been to New Have you ever been to New York?York?” ”

• He asked me whether [He asked me whether [oror if] I had ever if] I had ever been to New York.been to New York.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me have I ever been to New *He asked me have I ever been to New York.York.

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15. He asked me,15. He asked me,““Which typewriter do you like Which typewriter do you like better?better?” ”

• He asked me which typewriter I liked He asked me which typewriter I liked better.better.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me which typewriter do I like *He asked me which typewriter do I like better?better?

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16. He asked me,16. He asked me,““Who is that pretty girl?Who is that pretty girl?” ”

• He asked me who that pretty girl was.He asked me who that pretty girl was.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me who was that pretty girl.*He asked me who was that pretty girl.

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17. He asked me,17. He asked me,““WhatWhat time is it?time is it?” ”

• He asked me what time it was.He asked me what time it was.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me what time was it.*He asked me what time was it.

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18. He asked me,18. He asked me,““Whose hat is this?Whose hat is this?” ”

• He asked me whose hat this was.He asked me whose hat this was.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me whose hat was this.*He asked me whose hat was this.

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19. He asked me,19. He asked me,““Whom does this hat belong Whom does this hat belong to?to?” ”

• He asked me who(m) this hat belonged to.He asked me who(m) this hat belonged to.

• He asked me to whom this hat belonged.He asked me to whom this hat belonged.

• He asked me whose hat this was.He asked me whose hat this was.

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20. He asked me,20. He asked me,““How long have you been How long have you been waiting?waiting?” ”

• He asked me how long I had been waiting.He asked me how long I had been waiting.

• Avoid these common mistakes:Avoid these common mistakes:

• *He asked me how long did I wait.*He asked me how long did I wait.

• He asked me how long was I waiting.He asked me how long was I waiting.

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21. He asked me,21. He asked me,““Which beach did you go to?Which beach did you go to?” ”

• He asked me which beach I went to.He asked me which beach I went to.

• Avoid this common mistake:Avoid this common mistake:

• *He asked me which beach did I go.*He asked me which beach did I go.

• *He asked me which beach did I go to.*He asked me which beach did I go to.

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4-2 4-2 SEQUENCE OF TENSES IN NOUN CLAUSES (2) SEQUENCE OF TENSES IN NOUN CLAUSES (2)

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Change the main verb to the past tense and Change the main verb to the past tense and make the changes in the noun clauses required make the changes in the noun clauses required by the sequence of tenses. by the sequence of tenses.

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EXAMPLE: a. He denies that he took the money. EXAMPLE: a. He denies that he took the money.

• He denied that he had taken the money. He denied that he had taken the money.

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I know that I can do the work if he will give me I know that I can do the work if he will give me the chance. the chance.

• I knew that I could do the work if he would I knew that I could do the work if he would give me the chance. give me the chance.

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(Note that sequence of tenses must be observed (Note that sequence of tenses must be observed even in the dependent clauses within the even in the dependent clauses within the noun clauses.) noun clauses.)

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1. We believe that he may take the late train 1. We believe that he may take the late train home. home.

• We believed [that] he might take the late We believed [that] he might take the late train home.train home.

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2. I assume that the insurance company will pay 2. I assume that the insurance company will pay me for the damage to my car. me for the damage to my car.

• I assumed [that] the insurance company I assumed [that] the insurance company would pay me for the damage to my car.would pay me for the damage to my car.

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3. I think that the baby is crying. 3. I think that the baby is crying.

• I thought [that] the baby was crying.I thought [that] the baby was crying.

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4. We doubt that they have already left. 4. We doubt that they have already left.

• We doubted [that] they had already left.We doubted [that] they had already left.

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5. I suppose that they are out to lunch. 5. I suppose that they are out to lunch.

• I supposed that they were out to lunch.I supposed that they were out to lunch.

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6. Our neighbors are threatening that they will 6. Our neighbors are threatening that they will call the police if we continue to play such loud call the police if we continue to play such loud music. music.

• Our neighbors were threatening [that] they Our neighbors were threatening [that] they would call the police if we continued to would call the police if we continued to play such loud music.play such loud music.

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7. She is pretending that she hasn't seen him 7. She is pretending that she hasn't seen him come into the room. come into the room.

• She was pretending [that] she hadn’t seen She was pretending [that] she hadn’t seen him come into the room.him come into the room.

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8. I suppose that the secretary who has just 8. I suppose that the secretary who has just been hired will prove to be satisfactory. been hired will prove to be satisfactory.

• I supposed [that] the secretary who had I supposed [that] the secretary who had just been hired would prove to be just been hired would prove to be satisfactory.satisfactory.

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9. She is complaining that the doctor is charging 9. She is complaining that the doctor is charging too much for the series of treatments he is too much for the series of treatments he is giving her. giving her.

• She was complaining that the doctor was She was complaining that the doctor was charging too much for the series of charging too much for the series of treatments he was giving her.treatments he was giving her.

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