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John kenter Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
About English Tense Usage
I'd like to ask you guys three questions about usage of tenses, particularly some sentences I have found in the pages of several publications.
The first one is: "The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development made the projections Friday in its annual report to Congress on FHA, saying its efforts to improve the agency’s finances were paying off. "
My question is would it be fine to replace" were paying off" with are paying off if we are talking about the current situation? Is it customary for jouralists to neglect the sequence of tenses rule?
The second one is: "The BoE’s Financial Policy Committee last month said it was examining impediments to securitisation markets, arguing that it may be suffering from “lingering stigma” and banks’ efforts to shrink their balance sheets."
My question is would it be okay to replace "it was examining" with had examined?
The third question is could you tell me which sentence is correct? Obama said last week he had decided to take action to cope with this issue or Obama said last week he decided to take action to cope with this issue. Are they both correct in terms of tense usage?
English is not my first language, so I'd be grateful if you could explain it for me. Thank you.
All the best.
The first one is: "The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development made the projections Friday in its annual report to Congress on FHA, saying its efforts to improve the agency’s finances were paying off. "
My question is would it be fine to replace" were paying off" with are paying off if we are talking about the current situation? Is it customary for jouralists to neglect the sequence of tenses rule?
The second one is: "The BoE’s Financial Policy Committee last month said it was examining impediments to securitisation markets, arguing that it may be suffering from “lingering stigma” and banks’ efforts to shrink their balance sheets."
My question is would it be okay to replace "it was examining" with had examined?
The third question is could you tell me which sentence is correct? Obama said last week he had decided to take action to cope with this issue or Obama said last week he decided to take action to cope with this issue. Are they both correct in terms of tense usage?
English is not my first language, so I'd be grateful if you could explain it for me. Thank you.
All the best.
Top answer
S. Department of Housing and Urban Development made the projections Friday in its annual report to Congress on FHA, saying its efforts to improve the agency’s finances were paying off. " My question is would it be fine to replace" were paying off" with are paying off if we are talking about the current situation?
- S.
- Department of Housing and Urban Development made the projections Friday in its annual report to Congress on FHA, saying its efforts to improve the agency’s finances were paying off.
- " My question is would it be fine to replace" were paying off" with are paying off if we are talking about the current situation?
- Is it customary for jouralists to neglect the sequence of tenses rule?
- The journalist has not neglected the rules of the sequence of tenses: made is past tense and so is were paying off.
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2 Answers
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john kenter "The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development made the projections Friday in its annual report to Congress on FHA, saying its efforts to improve the agency’s finances were paying off. " My question is would it be fine to replace" were paying off" with are paying off if we are talking about the current situation? Is it customary for jouralists to neglec
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