SJC-style-and-production-guide-2012

TENSES AND INDIRECT SPEECHTenses can be tricky. Learn the names of the tenses so that the rules in this book are clear.Present simple he goesPresent continuous he is goingPresent perfect he has gonePast simple he wentPast continuous he was goingPast perfect he had goneFuture simple he will goFuture continuous he will be goingFuture perfect will be goneIndirect speechThe rule is that when converting from direct speech to indirect speech, the tense of the wholesentence is governed by the tense of the verb to say (or claim, explain etc). If you are writing inthe present tense (he says) then the tense of the indirect speech remains as it was when uttered.So “I love my wife,” he says becomes He says he loves his wife.But when you use the past tense (he said), all tenses are pushed into the past, so that presentsimple becomes past simple (“I loved my wife,” he said becomes he said he had loved his wife.)Under this rule, direct speech in past simple tense becomes indirect speech in past perfect tense.(“I loved my wife,” he said becomes He said he had loved his wife.)The advantage of this is that it is clear from the tense of the indirect speech what tense thespeaker actually used, and therefore what he meant. Similarly, “I have been out walking,” hesaid becomes He said he had been out walking. And so on.When writing a sequence of several sentences of past tense indirect speech attributable to thesame source, do not put s/he said at the end of every paragraph.Allow the tense to indicate you are still in indirect speech mode, thus: The minister said morecuts were likely. A drop in revenue was making it impossible to maintain services, and the budgethad cut government funding further than expected.This approach can sometimes lead to absurdities if grammatical rules are followedunerringly. For example, “I love my wife,” he said . “She is beautiful, although frail.” Wouldbecome He said he loved his wife. She was beautiful, although frail. It starts to sound as thoughshe is also dead. So there are two rules regarding tenses in indirect speech:• Never let tenses kill the living or resurrect the dead: The injured are…(not were). Thevictims (of a fatal plane crash) are believed to have been… (not believed to be).• Rewrite to avoid unclear or nonsensical implications.ONLYMisplacing only is a common error. It is important the word should be positioned correctly in asentence, but the strict rules of grammar need not be pursued to extremes. Imagine how the songwould sound had it been punctiliously penned: I have eyes only for you.Fowler says He only died a week ago is permissible because, when said, the intonation ofand accent on the words “only” and “died” make it clear what is meant.On the other hand, in answer to the question Is Mort Smith really dead? The reply Yes, hedied only a week ago obviously carries its own desired nuance with the only in its grammaticallyPAGE 11 – 2012UQ SJC STYLEBOOK