Does placing a statement in quotes, invalidate the need to backshift?

Question

Is it correct to say the following sentence:

A week ago I went to the shops to buy some butter and all of a sudden I saw that ‘two men are walking towards me’.

Here I used ‘are’ because the statement is inside the inverted commas. The same concept which is used in direct speech. Such as:

John said to Kate, “I am hungry”.

So is it correct to use 'are' in the aforementioned scenario?

Not to be picky, just trying to help: butter is an uncountable noun so 'a butter' should be either 'some butter' or 'a unit of butter'... Same rule that applies to other substances like water. — user263399, Commented Sep 10, 2015 at 15:43

chasly - supports Monica · Accepted Answer · 2015-09-10 15:02:24Z

4

I saw that ‘two men are walking towards me’.

That is incorrect. It's wrong for more than one reason

So we should remove the word 'that'.

That is marginally better but not at all idiomatic because 'to see' is a subjective experience whereas quotes are used when relating an experience.

So you could say

I saw two men walking towards me.

or

I thought to myself, "Two men are walking towards me".

or stretching things

I realised, "Two men are walking towards me".

answered Sep 10, 2015 at 15:02

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A question that should be on ELL really ought not to be answered here: it sends the wrong message, and deos not help the OP in any but the most individual sense.
– TimLymington
Commented Sep 10, 2015 at 15:09
@chaslyfromUK :What about the sentence : A week ago I was sleeping and when I woke up I noticed "The clock is not working." SO, is this sentence idiomatically correct ?
– iamRR
Commented Sep 10, 2015 at 15:55
No it's not idiomatic. The only reason I entertained I realised, "Two men..." is that it could be interpreted as an internal dialog. I don't see any way that I noticed can describe a dialog. The only exception I can think of is if you saw a sign or note with the words, "The clock is not working." written on it.
– chasly - supports Monica
Commented Sep 10, 2015 at 16:01

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