correct tense

Question

Dear teachers,Which tenses should be used in the following paragraph ?Then you told me that you wanted to marry me and go to . You hoped you could find a better job there… And you asked me to follow you. I didn't know what to do: on the one hand it was wonderful because it meant freedom and love. But on the other hand, if I had left , I would have abandoned my brothers and sisters. No, I really couldn't do that. Moreover,  a) my roots are in : my life is very hard, but I know I can't / couldn't (?) leave.b) my roots were in : my life was very hard, but I know (?) I couldn't leave.Thanks you very much,Hela

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Well, first of all, there's an anomaly in the preceding text. I would have thought that it should read: 'No, I really couldn't have done that'. If it did, B would be the obvious choice (with some changes-- 'I knew I couldn't have left').

But perhaps 'No I really couldn't do that' is correct, and they are still having the discussion; if so, then A (with can't or couldn't) is more probable.

There may be other permutations.

Hela · Answer

Dear Mr Micawber,

I should've sent you the whole text perhaps. Here it is:

"I received your letter yesterday and I must explain to you what happened and why I didn’t leave with you. I remember the day I first met you. I immediately fell in love with you: I was so happy. I could be myself at last and forget my terrible life at home, where I was afraid of my father's violence... Besides, I had to take care of my brothers and sisters and it wasn't easy.

Then you told me that you wanted to marry me and go to Argentina. You hoped you could find a better job there… And you asked me to follow you. I didn't know what to do: on the one hand it was wonderful because it meant freedom and love. But on the other hand, if I had left Dublin, I would have abandoned my brothers and sisters. No, I really couldn't do that. Moreover,

a) my roots are in Dublin: my life is very hard, but I know I can't / couldn't (?) leave.

b) my roots were in Dublin: my life was very hard, but I knew I couldn't have left (?).

I even asked *** to help me find a solution, because I was torn between my love for you and my duty to my family... When I was at the station with you, I was scared: there were SO (is TOO possible here?) MANY people... I could only think of my family. That’s why I ran] away at the last minute.
I know that I'm always in love with you, but I think we must accept our fate. I will never forget you? (Is "Never will I forget you" possible ?)

Thanks a lot!

Mister Micawber · Answer

Thanks, Hela. That 'No, I really couldn't do that' still bothers me, but since she is no longer contemplating joining her lover, I would select B-- and frankly I can't see much difference now between knew I couldn't leave and knew I couldn't have left.

I think that too changes the meaning-- she is saying that the station was very crowded, not overcrowded.

Never will I forget you! (with an exclamation point) is possible, but slightly out of character. Which reminds me: this tale sounds vaguely familiar. What is this excerpted from?

Hela · Answer

Unfortunately I don't know where this passage is taken from.

1) Maybe you're right and the sentence should be "No, I really couldn't have done that."

2) Now for the passage from "My roots... leave." what forms / tenses would you choose yourself according to the context?

3) What did you mean when you said that "Never will I forget you!" would be "out of character"?

Thank you very much for your help that's very kind of you.

Mister Micawber · Answer

2-- Hmm. I suppose that I would write (and forgive me for posting it all-- but I needed to reassemble it for consistency):

I received your letter yesterday, and I must explain to you what happened and why I didn’t leave with you. I remember the day I first met you. I immediately fell in love with you. I was so happy: I could be myself at last and forget my terrible life at home, where I was afraid of my father's violence. Besides, I had to take care of my brothers and sisters, and it wasn't easy.
Then you told me that you wanted to marry me and go to Argentina. You hoped you could find a better job there, and you asked me to follow you. I didn't know what to do: on the one hand it was wonderful because it meant freedom and love; but on the other hand, if I left Dublin, I would abandon my brothers and sisters. No, I really couldn't do that. Moreover, my roots were in Dublin: my life was very hard, but I knew I couldn't leave.

I even asked *** to help me find a solution, because I was torn between my love for you and my duty to my family. When I was at the station with you, I was scared: there were so many people! I could only think of my family. That’s why I ran away at the last minute. I know that I'll always be in love with you, but I think we must accept our fate. I will never forget you.

As you will notice, I also changed the verb forms in the on the other hand... clause. Whether it was done artfully by the writer to suggest the woman's agitation, or done in error, the original passage seems to make several diversions from consistent past narrative.
3-- The woman seems to be matter-of-fact in her explanation, but the Never will I form is rather romantic/poetic. Hence, out of character.

(I have been thinking about the familiarity of this passage. It is the subject matter, not the style, that rang a bell, and I have now decided that this passage must be some student's homework. The assignment was presumably to compose Eveline Hill's explanation to Frank as to why she refused to board the ship with him, at the end of James Joyce's short story, Eveline.)

Hela · Answer

Thank you very much, Mr Micawber! Thank you for correcting the whole "essay". I'll read it through and try to understand your changes.

Kind regards.

Hela · Answer

Dear teachers,

I'm a little confused. Mr Micawber suggested earlier to say:

1) I didn't know what to do: on the one hand, it was wonderful because it meant freedom and love; but on the other hand, if I left [unreal future] D, I would abandon my brothers and sisters. No, I really couldn’t do that [present conditional ?]

But is it also possible to say: If I had left [unreal past = 3rd type conditional] would have abandoned [past conditional] my brothers and sisters. No, I really couldn't have done [past conditional] OR couldn't do [simple past OR present conditional, how should I know?] that.

2) Moreover, my roots are [present = permanent situation that can't be changed] in Dublin my life is / was very hard, but I know I can't (?) / couldn’t (?)leave [simple past OR present conditional? Can it work with both the present and the past forms of the verb "to know"?] .

Or should I say:

Moreover, my roots were [past = tense agreement ?] in Dublin my life was very hard, but I knew I couldn’t leave [simple past OR present conditional?] / couldn’t have left [past conditional ? = past inability ?].

3) I even asked *** to a) help me to find / b) help me find a solution. [wich form should follow the verb "to help"?]

I don't know if my questions are clear, if not I'll try again.

Thank you for your patience.

Hela

Hela · Answer

I would be grateful if a teacher could answer my queries.

Best regards,

hela

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