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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

back shifting

Are both of these sentences correct?

1. I heard you were a Jordan fan.
2. I heard you are a Jordan fan.

Can #1 be used for both the present and past? If for the present, is it a matter of back shifting?

Thanks.
  

Top answer

Anonymous Can #1 be used for both the present and past? (1. ) Yes, but for the past it is much more likely to be said thus: I heard you used to be a Jordan fan .

— CalifJim

  • Anonymous Can #1 be used for both the present and past?
  • (1.
  • ) Yes, but for the past it is much more likely to be said thus: I heard you used to be a Jordan fan .
  • Anonymous If for the present, is it a matter of back shifting?
  • Yes.
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35 Answers
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AnonymousCan #1 be used for both the present and past? (1. I heard you were a Jordan fan.)
Yes, but for the past it is much more likely to be said thus: I heard you used to be a Jordan fan.
AnonymousIf for the present, is it a matter of back shifting?
Yes.
Anonymousboth ... correct?
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Thanks for responding, CJ. I was hoping that you would respond!
CalifJimbut for the past it is much more likely to be said thus: I heard you used to be a Jordan fan.
Does ‘... to be said thus’ mean in the following way? Which is “I heard you used to be ..”.

I am just asking because I did not know that ‘thus’ could mean as the following. Is my und
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Anonymoussaid thus:
= said in this way: = said like this: = said as follows:
AnonymousSo does that mean that you generally prefer the back-shifting form of sentences for the present?
Yes, and the same is true for the majority of English speakers, I would guess.

CJ
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CalifJim= said in this way: = said like this: = said as follows:
Great. Going to start using that!
CalifJimYes, and the same is true for the majority of English speakers, I would guess.
Got it.

I would just like to confirm one thing. It’s OK not to back-shift, as in the example I gave, when the statements is still t
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AnonymousIt’s OK not to back-shift, as in the example I gave, when the statements is still true in the present. Right?
Yes, you can barely get away with that at times, but really it's not so much that a statement is "still true" in the present but that it is a universal, timeless truth.

Today we learned that [glaciers are rivers of ice].
To
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CalifJimYes, you can barely get away with that at times, but really it's not so much that a statement is "still true" in the present but that it is a universal, timeless truth.
I see.
CalifJimGlaciers are by definition rivers of ice. They were always defined that way, and they always will be. You can call it a timeless truth.On the othe
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AnonymousSo it would be OK to use ‘were’ in that sentence due to the word learned. Right?
Yes. It is always correct to backshift.
Anonymousif I have understood correctly, it may is actually also be preferred, right?
I have no idea what the preferences are in this case, but as I
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CalifJimYes. It is always correct to backshift.
Got it.
CalifJimI have no idea what the preferences are in this case, but as I said above, it is always correct to backshift. Personally, I would not backshift a definition like this.
I see so would would not back-shift definition things like this one, but other than that you w
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Anonymous so would would not back-shift definition things like this one, but other than that you would as you mentioned. Right?
Right.
Anonymouswould the same reasoning apply to the following sentences?:This is what I thought.This was what I thought.
No. The sentence structure is completely different. Both of those are equ
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CalifJimyou mentioned. Right?Right.
Great!
CalifJimNo. The sentence structure is completely different. Both of those are equally good.
I see. So then what is the difference in meaning between using ‘is’ and ‘was’ in this sentence?

It was kind of confusing me, because I also did not think it was a matter of back-shif
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