2

If I want to say someone asked (something) can I use 言います, or must I use the proper verb?

子供はお母さんに「左か右、どっちのほうがいいですか？」と尋ねた。

Does the following make sense for reported speech? I'm not sure about the use of と as an article, if the verb is correct, or if the use of どっち is right in this context.

Eiríkr Útlendi
  • 35,463
  • 1
  • 67
  • 114
Paul Cunningham
  • 499
  • 1
  • 7
  • 13
  • 2
    聞く might be preferable to 尋ねる casually; used in this sense, it's sometimes spelt 訊く. – Angelos Mar 26 '16 at 03:42
  • 4
    I personally think children would not use the polite words "です”, "ます” to their parents. So I think 「左か右，どっちのほうがいい？」 would sound better to me. –  Mar 26 '16 at 22:19
  • Thanks, does anyone know the difference between 問う and 聞く？ – Paul Cunningham Mar 28 '16 at 07:28
  • @PaulCunningham Better to ask that as a new question. You should probably add 訊ねる to the list as well. – user3856370 Mar 29 '16 at 08:55
  • The other link answered my question about reported speech, which seems much simpler in Japanese than in English (which explains why my students have such a hard time with reported speech in English!) – Paul Cunningham Mar 29 '16 at 23:55

0 Answers0