Reported Speech

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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > Reported Speech

Reported Speech

KHAWLA ALZIOD

Reported Speech

Hello everyone ,

I would be grateful if anyone answered me this question .

When we change a sentence into the indirect speech ,do we change the modal verb

" must " into had to or we can leave it "must ".

"I must help my father ."

Adam said that he had to help his father . Is it correct to say :

Adam said that he must help his father .

Thank you .

4 Apr 2014

mohamedthabet

We keep "must" if the obligation or duty is general,permanent, always true.

We turn "must" to "had to" if the obligation is limited to the time, situation, or context when the direct speech was uttered.

4 Apr 2014