Here vs There

[Cimek]

Is it correct to assume that "here" and "there" are used to refer to things which are at different distances from the person speaking? Here for things that are close to you and there for things that are far away.


For example, is this sentence correct: "You mustn't put it here. He forbade me to put it there"? Is it incorrect to refer to the same space with both here and there (meaning that both sentences should use either here or there)?

 

[teechar]

Is it correct to assume that "here" and "there" are used to refer to things which are at different distances from the person speaking: "here" for things that are close [STRIKE]to you[/STRIKE] and "there" for things that are far away?

Yes, that sounds reasonable.

For example, is this sentence correct? "You mustn't put it here. He forbade me to put it there".

Those are two sentences you quoted. Also, the second appears to be the reported-speech version of the first. In reported speech, "here" typically changes to "there" regardless of distance.

Is it incorrect to refer to the same space with both "here" and "there" (meaning that both sentences should use either here or there)?

See above. Perhaps you can provide another example.

 

[Cimek]

Those are two sentences you quoted. Also, the second appears to be the reported-speech version of the first. In reported speech, "here" typically changes to "there" regardless of distance.

Thank you for your answer. I was confused because I didn't realize the second sentence is written using reported speech.

Would it be correct to say "You mustn't put it here. He ordered me to put it there" ? There - meaning entirely somewhere else than where the person originally intended to put it (here).

 

[jutfrank]

"You mustn't put it here. He ordered me to put it there"

Do these two sentence form a dialogue? Are there two people speaking?

There's no obvious reason why they would use different words.

A: You mustn't put it there.
B: He told me to put it there.

However, person B may choose to use here instead of there if he feels he is in some way connected to the place in question.

If we feel that we are inside or part of a space, physically or otherwise, we use here.

 

[Cimek]

Do these two sentence form a dialogue? Are there two people speaking?

There's no obvious reason why they would use different words.

A: You mustn't put it there.
B: He told me to put it there.

However, person B may choose to use here instead of there if he feels he is in some way connected to the place in question.

If we feel that we are inside or part of a space, physically or otherwise, we use here.

This is quite enlightening but I was thinking about one person speaking, the sentence meaning something like "don't put it here, because he (our superior) told me to put it there (somewhere else)". I see now that mustn't might not be the perfect word to use in this context.