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New_construct Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

a simple grammar problem....

0 Hi, i am new here. 02br
00 I want to ask if it is grammatically correct to say "my dad said he is going to work tommrow" or "my dad said he was going to work tommrow."02br
00 thanks02br
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Top answer

"02font 02br 02br 01font 00'Was' is always correct. 'Is' can also be correct, depending on how far in the past the statement was made. eg02font 02br 02br 01font 01i 00Dad02i 00: I ...

— Clive

  • "02font 02br 02br 01font 00'Was' is always correct.
  • 'Is' can also be correct, depending on how far in the past the statement was made.
  • eg02font 02br 02br 01font 01i 00Dad02i 00: I ...
  • 02br 02br 00In this case, 'tomorrow' is fine.
  • 02br 02br 01font 00Best wishes, Clive02font 01font 02font 0-
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13 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
00Welcome to the Forum.02br
02br
01font00I want to ask if it is grammatically correct to say "my dad said he is going to work tomorrow" or "my dad said he was going to work tomorrow."02font02br
02br
01font00'Was' is always correct. 'Is' can also be correct, dep
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0
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0 I am not quite familiar with the sentence construction "My dad said he was going to work tomorrow." Can you explain how that can made like that with a simple example. Thank you. 0-
0
0
0Hi,02br
02br
01font01i00Dad02i00: I 'm going to work tomorrow.02br
02font02br
02br
01font01i00Friend02i00: Sorry, I didn't hear that.02font02br
02br
01font01i00Son02i00: My
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0 01font00>"my dad said he is going to work tomorrow" or "my dad said he was going to work tomorrow."02br
02br
00I don't agree that 01i00was02i00 is correct. The past tense 01i00said02i00 in this sentence refers to the time the man spoke. The present progressive 01i00is going02i
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0 Demetrius wrote: 01font00The "tomorrow" is now in the past when the speech is reported.02font02br
02br
00How is that again? Let's suppose that today -- the day we are reporting the original statement -- is March 6. The original statement refers to March 7, tomorrow. If we are speaking on March 6 about March 7, tomorrow, how do conclu
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Peano12cite10I was just quoting Garner:11font12br
12br
10See Garner: "When a subordinate clause states an ongoing or general truth, it should be in the present tense regardless of the tense in the principal clause -- thus 11i10He said yesterday that he is Jewish, 12i
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0 01blockquote
01cite10New_construct12cite10Hi, i am new here. 12br
10 I want to ask if it is grammatically correct to say "my dad said he is going to work tommrow" or "my dad said he was going to work tommrow."12br
10 thanks12br
12blockquote
10Let's go back to square one. We have no indication her
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0I would agree with Clive: the past tense is always correct. If the content of the reported clause is still current at the time of reporting, or expresses a general truth, the present tense 01i00may02i00 be used; but it's not obligatory. Thus both #1 and #2 are correct:02br
02br
001. The doctor said that eating six slices of bread and dripping a day was
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0 01font00MrP writes: >the past tense is always correct.02font02br
02br
00What is your rationale for that?0-
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