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Perfect Stranger Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Grammar question no. 24 - when did you tell VS when you told
G'd day to you.
Can you help me out here?
What time did you tell your mum you'd be home?
When did you tell your mum you'd be home?
Those questions sound a bit strange. I guess they don't ask what time sb will be home... they ask when the action of telling the mother took place.
These are not better either IMHO... as they are not questions:
When you told yout mum you'd be home?
What time you told your mum you'd be home?
What do you think about it?
Can you help me out here?
What time did you tell your mum you'd be home?
When did you tell your mum you'd be home?
Those questions sound a bit strange. I guess they don't ask what time sb will be home... they ask when the action of telling the mother took place.
These are not better either IMHO... as they are not questions:
When you told yout mum you'd be home?
What time you told your mum you'd be home?
What do you think about it?
Top answer
Perfect Stranger Those questions sound a bit strange. I guess they don't ask what time sb will be home... they ask when the action of telling the mother took place.
- Perfect Stranger Those questions sound a bit strange.
- I guess they don't ask what time sb will be home...
- they ask when the action of telling the mother took place.
- They might sound strange to you, but not to a native speaker.
- The natural interpretation of both is that they ask what you told your mother, not when you told her the fact that you’d be home.
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3 Answers
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Perfect StrangerThose questions sound a bit strange. I guess they don't ask what time sb will be home... they ask when the action of telling the mother took place.They might sound strange to you, but not to a native speaker. The natural interpretation of both is that they ask what you told your mother, not when you told her the fact that you’d be home.
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Aspara GusThey might sound strange to you, but not to a native speaker. The natural interpretation of both is that they ask what you told your mother, not when you told her the fact that you’d be home.OMG! But... <speechless> Then how would we ask about the time when the action of asking took place?
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