[Grammar] Reported speech - where to put verb in wh- questions and when to use having+3rd form

[Mixer21]

These 2 things have been bothering me for quite some time know so here I am, asking for some help.


For example:

The man denied having stolen the ring.

Or should it be:

The man denied stealing the ring.?



And wh- questions like this:


I asked what time the conference had started.
or
I asked what time had the conference started.

I'm aware of the fact you're normally not supposed to switch verbs like you would in questions but the first option just doesn't sound right to me.


Any advice highly appreciated.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

These two things have been bothering me for quite some time now, so here I am, asking for some help.


For example:

The man denied having stolen the ring.

or:

The man denied stealing the ring.

The second is clearer and more natural.

And wh- questions like this:

I asked what time the conference had started.

Good.

or:

I asked, "What time had the conference started?"

That order only works if it's a question.

I'm aware of the fact you're normally not supposed to switch verbs like you would in questions, but the first option just doesn't sound right to me.

Any advice highly appreciated.

Welcome, Mixer!

Advice: Ask one question per post.

 

[jutfrank]

Q1: Both are grammatical. There is a slight difference in focus but they have more or less the same meaning. The former has what we call a 'perfect' aspect, which is used to place the action more clearly in past time. One possible context for this might be to emphasise that the stealing happened before another past event, for example. The latter doesn't have this aspect, and so is simpler.

Q2: The first is correct as it follows the normal rules of sentence structure. The second is not right.