Simple present or simple past tense after “said”?
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They said they were good friends.
They said they are good friends.
Which one is correct? For me 1. sounds like I'm implying they're not good friends now, but this isn't what I want to say. And 2. is a bit weird because "said" happened in the past and when they "said" something, shouldn't it be about the past (the present for them)?
tenses clauses
asked 1 hour ago
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
They said they were good friends.
They said they are good friends.
Which one is correct? For me 1. sounds like I'm implying they're not good friends now, but this isn't what I want to say. And 2. is a bit weird because "said" happened in the past and when they "said" something, shouldn't it be about the past (the present for them)?
tenses clauses
asked 1 hour ago
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
59 mins ago
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
They said they were good friends.
They said they are good friends.
Which one is correct? For me 1. sounds like I'm implying they're not good friends now, but this isn't what I want to say. And 2. is a bit weird because "said" happened in the past and when they "said" something, shouldn't it be about the past (the present for them)?
tenses clauses
asked 1 hour ago
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
They said they were good friends.
They said they are good friends.
Which one is correct? For me 1. sounds like I'm implying they're not good friends now, but this isn't what I want to say. And 2. is a bit weird because "said" happened in the past and when they "said" something, shouldn't it be about the past (the present for them)?
tenses clauses
tenses clauses
asked 1 hour ago
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
asked 1 hour ago
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
asked 1 hour ago
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
asked 1 hour ago
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
asked 1 hour ago
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
1092
You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
59 mins ago
add a comment |
You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
59 mins ago
You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
59 mins ago
You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
59 mins ago
add a comment |
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You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
59 mins ago