Olay, old newspaper editor stuff rising up here. You've been warned. <g>
So, if I were looking at the sentence in question as copy coming across my
desk. I would question the use of the word "reported." I would want to know if
the writer meant that the Prime Minister reported as in a written report of
some sort, or if, at some point, he _said_ he was keen to preserve the State
Pension.
Unless "reported" originated in a document excavated from 10 Downing St., I
would encourage the writer to phrase the sentence differently. For example,
"The Prime Minister said . . ." or, if the quote deserved more emphasis, "The
Prime Minister was adamant in his support for the State Pension." Using "The
Prime Minister reported" sounds a bit pretentious to me. But then I'm not a
Brit. <wink>
And I'm picky that way. Not as picky as Chris and Piers, but pretty damn picky
for a speaker of American English. At least when I'm wearing the proper hat.
And if the writer didn't agree with me, I would exercise editorial
(dictatorial) prerogative and change the damn word anyway.
--Bob Whitmire
Certified Neanderthal
On Jan 5, 2014, at 11:03 AM, Jez Cunningham wrote:
> 'Trouble is, when you write "The Prime Minister reported that he was keen
> to preserve the State Pension." it's all too easy to infer that now he is
> no longer keen so to do.
> Innit?
> jez
>
>
> On 5 January 2014 14:14, Chris Barker <ftog@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> No, because it’s reported speech. The second part should be the same time
>> as the first.
>>
>> Chris
>>
>> On 5 Jan 2014, at 11:48, Andrew Fildes <afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> Huh? "The Prime Minister reported that he is keen to preserve the State
>> Pension." A person reported in the recent past that he is (continuing to
>> be) of a particular opinion or attitude. Is that not grammatical? Perfect
>> commenting on Present Continuous. They are two different things and can
>> command different tenses, surely. Or did he retort or was it that he 'was
>> reported to be'? :-)
>>> Andrew Fildes
>
--
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