Learn English – ‘Suggest helping’ vs ‘Offer to help’ – in reported speech

word-choiceword-usage

My English exercise book has a question related to reported speech like this:

Choose the sentence which is closest in meaning to be printed one

“Shall I help you with the washing-up, Jane?” John said.
A. John told Jane to help him with the washing-up.
B. John asked if Jane should help him with the washing-up.
C. John suggested helping Jane with the washing-up.
D. John offered to help Jane with the washing-up.

Even though the given answer key is D, I still think C can be another choice. If you don't think so, could you kindly explain what makes D is the only choice in this case?

Best Answer

C. John suggested helping Jane with the washing-up.

Consider some contexts in which this sentence might occur.

Julie asked John what she could do to speed things up. John suggested helping Jane with the washing-up.

Jane pointed out that Julie was old enough now to have some regular chores, and asked John if he had any ideas. John suggested helping Jane with the washing-up.

suggest VERBing does not imply that VERB has any particular subject; specifically, it does not imply that the subject suggests that he should VERB. Consequently, this sentence does not, as the quotation does, imply that John made an offer to help; it at most puts helping Jane forward as a good idea.

Related Topic