Re: reportet speach

"Owain" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> "Adrian Bailey" wrote
> | > Original:
> | > can you bring these letters to the post office ?
> | The original should be: "Can you *take* these letters to the post
office?"
> | Both the speaker and the listener are not at the post office, nor is the
> | speaker going to be at the post office, so "bring" is not possible.
>
> The sentence, given without context, doesn't exclude that possibility. If
> the speaker and listener were arranging to meet at a later time at the
post
> office, the speaker might ask the listener to bring the letters with him.
>
> Or the speaker might be at the post office and telephoning the listener to
> ask him to bring the letters to the post office.
>
> "These letters" may refer to letters which are being discussed, not
> necessarily ones which are near by.

You're trying too hard. Okay, the sentence doesn't exclude that possibility,
but it's all but excluded. Given the context in which the sentence was
found, ie. an English lesson, I can only say that the sentence is a mistake.

Adrian