How would you change the time expression in the following sentence into a reported-speech form? "We have not been to London since last January?"
What about "the last January?" Or, is there no change?
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1Júlia Sirotiaková, don't you see that is not at all about reported speech? Reported speech is purely about what was actually said; it has nothing to do with either grammar or meaning. If that's what was actually said, then the correct form of reported speech would indeed be "We have not been to London since last January". Otherwise, it would not be reported speech. Quite separately there are contexts which allow "the last January" but they have no place here.– Robbie GoodwinDec 4, 2018 at 21:17
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Hi Júlia, you may not be aware that our other site English Language Learners is the best place to look for answers on English questions that a fluent speaker would find trivial. If you have a question for ELL, be sure to read their guidance on what you can ask. :-)– Chappo Hasn't Forgotten MonicaDec 5, 2018 at 2:25
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It depends on when the original statement was made. If it was this (current) year, you can simply say «They said that they had not been to London since last January.» If the statement was from a previous year, you need to do something different. I won't tell you any more, because I'm not allowed to answer questions in comments (and also you should show your research). … … P.S. Do you mean for the original sentence to be a question? It's phrased as a declarative sentence, but you put a question mark inside the quotes. … … P.P.S. Do you know what they mean by "last January"? It's ambiguous.– Scott - Слава УкраїніDec 5, 2018 at 2:44
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1 Answer
Next Month Jan 2019 we can say for Jan 2018
"We have not been to London since last January."
This current year (2018) we would not use last
"We have not been to London since January."
for Last year (2017)
"We have not been to London since January last."
The implication is January in the last calendar year.
In all cases if there is any question of doubt it is easier to say the year.
