Backshifting
I talked to him last year, and he said that when he was in Paris, he saw/had seen Jack.
I've read somewhere that when we have a time clause, there is no need to backshift, but one could if he/she so desired. How true is this? Are both saw and had seen correct?
P.S
The original sentence is "When I was in Paris, I saw Jack."
Top answer
Backshifting is not mandatory, but if you do it then do it consistently: I talked to him last year, and he said that when he was in Paris, he saw Jack. I talked to him last year, and he said that when he had been in Paris, he had seen Jack.
- Backshifting is not mandatory, but if you do it then do it consistently: I talked to him last year, and he said that when he was in Paris, he saw Jack.
- I talked to him last year, and he said that when he had been in Paris, he had seen Jack.
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Backshifting is not mandatory, but if you do it then do it consistently:
I talked to him last year, and he said that when he was in Paris, he saw Jack.
I talked to him last year, and he said that when he had been in Paris, he had seen Jack.
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