Chose vs choose

Question

The dress I choose isThe dress I chose isThe dress I chose wasIs there a time you can use the first one or is it grammatically wrong?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

It's fine. You're standing right now in front of your wardrobe:

Hmmm, let me see - - - - enie menie minie mo - - - - The dress I choose is the blue one!

Anonymous · Answer

I didn't know you lived in California.
I didn't know you live in California.

Correct me if im wrong but I feel that the two above means you still live in California, isnt it?
But sometimes I hear people use the first one to say they had lived in California before.

If you had lived in California at one point in time, aren't you supposed to use,
"I didn't know you had lived in California."?

But what if you still live in California at present, can you use "I didn't know you lived in California."?

Avangi · Answer

Why do I get the strange feeling I've heard this before?

This thing about reported speech/thought is not as mysterious as you seem to think.

There are two times: the time of the report and the time of the condition/event.

If the report was in the past (as it usually is), I thought; she knew; he said; they told me; etc., you may always describe the condition/event using the past tenses.
But you don't have to.

When you do this, we rely on context to inform us of the true time of the condition/event.
Using the past tenses DOES NOT mean that the condition/event existed/occurred only in the past.

If you feel that in a particular case backshifting gives the wrong impression of the true time, DON'T DO IT.

I didn't know you lived in California.
I didn't know you live in California.

The second one means you still live in CA. The first one means you MAY still live in CA.

If you had lived in California at one point in time, aren't you supposed to use,
"I didn't know you had lived in California."?

Not necessarily. Most of our examples at EF are taken out of context. Who knows what the real context might be?
If you feel the past perfect will make your meaning clear, then use it!
Choosing between past perfect and simple past is almost always at the option of the writer/speaker.

But what if you still live in California at present, can you use "I didn't know you lived in California."?

Absolutely 100% correct!

Backshifting makes no statement whatsoever about the present/current truth or falsity of the facts described.
That's what context is for.

Best wishes, - A.

Anonymous · Answer

I didn't know you have been to my party once.

I didn't know you had been to my party once. - I backshifted here. Is that okay?

--Which of the two are right? I feel like they're both right

I didn't know you go to this school.

I didn't know you went to this school. - Does this mean I'm not in this school anymore?

Anonymous · Answer

I didn't know you've been to France before.

I didn't know you'd been to France before.

Are they both grammatically correct?

Also,

I didn't know you've been to one of my parties once.

I didn't know you'd been to one of my parties once.

Thanksss

Chose vs choose

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