He demanded that I be there on time.

stephenlearner

stephenlearner

Senior Member
Chinese
Hi,

He demanded that I be there on time.

Can I paraphrase this sentence and change it to: He ordered me, "You must be there on time".

Thanks a lot.
 
    • "Order" isn't really used as a reporting verb in direct speech. You could use indirect speech, or you could use a different reporting verb with direct speech, such as "say".

    Also, "paraphrase" is the wrong word. Direct speech has to use the actual words spoken. If this is a story of your own invention, you can, of course, put whatever words you want in the mouth of your character. However, if this is something that actually happened (or if it is someone else's story), you cannot tell what the actual words spoken were. It is indirect speech that is the paraphrase, not direct speech.
     
    He said to me, "You must be there on time".

    Can I paraphrase this sentence and change it to: "He demanded that I be there on time"?

    Does it change the original meaning?
     
    Can I change demand to different verbs without changing its meaning?

    He comanded that I be there on time.
    He insisted that I be there on time.
    He asked that I be there on time.
    He ordered that I be there on time.
     
    Demand and insist have a similar meaning, but they don't necessarily mean that the person has any authority to enforce their will. "Command" and "order" both say that the person does have authority.

    "Ask" is less forceful than "demand", and does not place the other person under any obligation.

    Note that "ask", "command" and "order" are usually used like "tell": He asked/commanded/ordered me to be there on time. They aren't usually followed by a that-clause.
     
    You must log in or register to reply here.
    Back
    Top