convert to indirect

[niggo]

hi

Please tell me how to convert this into indirect

1- I said to my brother, "Try to be punctual"

2- John said to her brother "will you help me solve this sum"

[Temico]

Good questions. Please allow me to add two more to yours:-
3. They asked me, "What to do?"
4. He asked me, "What your name?"

Thanks.

[hayriye kayi]

3. I was asked what to do.
4.I was asked what my name was

[Casiopea]

[1] I told my brother (that) he should try to be punctual.
[2] John asked her brother if he (her brother) would help him (John) solve the sum.

[3] They asked me, "What to do?"
They asked me what to do / what they should do.

[4] He asked me, "What's your name?"
He asked me what my name was / He asked me my name.

[Temico]

3. They asked me, "What to do?"
4. He asked me, "What your name?"

FYI,
3. They asked me, "What to do?" = They asked me what to do.
3a. They asked me, "What should we do? = They asked me what they should do.

4. He asked me, "What your name?" = He asked me what your name.(??)
4a. He asked me, "What is your name? = He asked me my name or He asked me what my name is/was

The questions asked in 3 & 4 are grammatically incorrect because there is no verb in both of them!

[Casiopea]

Thanks. :) By the way, the following symbols are used to represent ungrammaticality and semantically awkward constructs:

* (ungrammatical)
? (semantically awkward)

Good questions. Please allow me to add two more to yours:-
3. They asked me, "What to do?"
4. He asked me, "What your name?"

[Temico]

* (ungrammatical)
? (semantically awkward)

BTW, would call the following quote (from the film "Tarzan"), "ungrammatical" or "semantically awkward"?

" I Tarzan, you Jane!"

[Casiopea]

BTW, would call the following quote (from the film "Tarzan"), "ungrammatical" or "semantically awkward"? "I Tarzan, you Jane!"

It's neither. This would be a good time to review the Forum rules, Temico. The topic of this thread is indirect speech.

[Temico]

The topic of this thread is indirect speech.

You seem to have missed my point. Perhaps I assumed too much and wasn't clear enough in my asking you about the "Tarzan quote". Allow me to clarify and ask again, if I changed "Tarzan said, 'I Tarzan, you Jane.' to indirect speech(which is the topic of this thread), it will become, "Tarzan said that he Tarzan and she/you Jane." Now, please tell me what should I put before this "indirect speech", an (*) or a (?) ??

[Casiopea]

"Tarzan said, '[me] Tarzan, you Jane.'

It's Tarzan's idiolect. It's truncated, telegraphic, and agrammatical:

EX: "Me [called] Tarzan, you [called] Jane" (agrammatical)

I don't know if there's a symbol for that. Here's how I would put it into indirect speech.

EX: Tarzan said (that) he's called Tarzan and (that) she's called Jane.

All the best, and see you in the Forum.