said the man? the man said?

[yamyam]

Hello, teachers.

I have a question about the word order:

1. "I don't want to go out with you tonight," the man said to me.

2. "I don't want to go out with you tonight," said the man to me.


I was told in junior high that #2 was the only correct word order,
but, as a matter of fact, which is more common?


Thank you very much in advance for your help on this.

yam

 

[maoyueh]

Hello, teachers.

I have a question about the word order:

1. "I don't want to go out with you tonight," the man said to me.

2. "I don't want to go out with you tonight," said the man to me.


I was told in junior high that #2 was the only correct word order,
but, as a matter of fact, which is more common?


Thank you very much in advance for your help on this.

yam

To me, both #1 and #2 are correct, but #2 is more common.

 

[charliedeut]

IMO, #1 is more natural. I would use #2 without "to me", but you would then, of course, somewhat alter the meaning.

 

[maoyueh]

To me, both #1 and #2 are correct, but #2 is more common.

Please allow me to explain why I think #2 is more common.

In fact, the most common structure is: The man said to me, "I don't want to go out with you tonight."
People often use an inverted structure for emphasis. Since #2 is an inverted strructure, I think it is more common between #1 and #2. I'm looking forward to more professional opinions.

 

[bhaisahab]

Please allow me to explain why I think #2 is more common.

In fact, the most common structure is: The man said to me, "I don't want to go out with you tonight."
People often use an inverted structure for emphasis. Since #2 is an inverted strructure, I think it is more common between #1 and #2. I'm looking forward to more professional opinions.

#2 is not more common. As charliedeut said, "#1 is more natural".