FAO TERESA MARIA

[Chris Goss]

Did you send me an email with links? Not happy with clicking on such things unless I know more

[Teresa Maria]

Dear Chris,
Yes, I did. It is a survey on changes in reported speech, addressed at native speakers and advanced users of English. Unfortunately, there is no longer a possibility of attaching screenshots as files, so I have to paste a sample question here:


16. What changes in the use of reported speech have you noticed? *






the backshift of tenses is used less often now than it was in the past





the backshift of tenses is used less consistently now than it was in the past (speakers may use it or not; the rules are less strict now)





the reporting verb is now used more often in the present tense (e.g. 'the President says...' rather than 'said')





the backshift of tenses is gradually disappearing





people are more likely to use direct quotations than reported speech





I have not noticed any changes






Other:


This is definitely not a virus, but an online questionnaire. I hesitated whether to post the link here on the forum, as it has nothing to do with aviation; maybe I will. (Do you think I should? It would definitely be off-topic.)
Yours sincerely,
Teresa