Mixing of tenses in reported speech

Discussion in 'Author Discussions' started by Eishun, Jun 16, 2021.

  1. Eishun

    Eishun Well-Known Member

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    I have a question about the use of tenses in reported speech. Please read the following dialogue and let me know if which one's grammatically correct.

    #1. "Oh, James told me that he WAS going to be busy these days and, if anything turns up, I should wait till later to talk to him," Sandra said to her mother.

    #2. "Oh, James told me that he IS going to be busy these days and, if anything turns up, I should wait till later to talk to him," Sandra said to her mother.


    So which one's correct? By the way, this James guy only just told Sandra (like 5 minutes ago in the story) that he was going to be busy these days. So when Sandra told her mother this, James was, in fact, still in a state of being busy. If you know what I mean?

    Also, should I use "if anything TURNS UP" or "if anything TURNED UP"?
     
  2. kfahad

    kfahad 『The Lurker Beast』『Beast fallen』

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    I read alot of MTL but 2 should be correct.. :blobpeek:
     
  3. zetsuen_dark

    zetsuen_dark [blue is the color of distance]⚓️

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  4. albeldayuia

    albeldayuia Can't-Re Member

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    2 because James is presently going to be busy in a few days. Not in the past
    And it's turns up because it's 1st conditional/future scenario that might occur
     
  5. Eishun

    Eishun Well-Known Member

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    Okay, most of you chose 2. But what about the rule that says tenses must match in the same sentence?
     
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  6. albeldayuia

    albeldayuia Can't-Re Member

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    As long as it's appropriate for the context, tenses in the same sentence can be different
    Sentence 2 is correct, the tense switched because it fits the time of the action.
    Use tenses as fitting according to the time, so it doesn't matter if one sentence has all 3 kinds, if the time of action calls for it
    Sentence 1, even though the tenses are the same, the rule is used incorrectly
    Sentence 1 can be right if, for example:
    Oh, James told me that he was going to be busy two weeks ago

    Idk if that makes sense :blobpeek:
     
  7. YoanRoturier

    YoanRoturier Member

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    #2 and if anything turns up.
     
  8. Deleted member 348269

    Deleted member 348269 Guest

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    this is pretty helpful. thanks. was told to stay consistent either in past or present tense. thu sometimes hard to do esp given in that situation. cleared up a few things.
     
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