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Johnson13 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

I finished it ahead of time; it doesn't/didn't mean I had a lot of time.

In this sentence:

I finished it ahead of time; it doesn't/didn't mean I had a lot of time.

I think both are correct, but I hope you can correct me if I am wrong.

DOESN'T means the speaker wants to say that such an event not meaning he had a lot of time is a permanent truth, so the simple present is used.

DIDN'T means the speaker wants to refer to a past event and he wants to focus on the meaning of such a thing on that past occasion, so the simple past is used.
  

Top answer

Johnson13 I think both are correct They are. Johnson13 DOESN'T means the speaker wants to say that such an event not meaning he had a lot of time is a permanent truth, so the simple present is used. I wouldn't say it's a permanent truth.

— Fivejedjon

  • Johnson13 I think both are correct They are.
  • Johnson13 DOESN'T means the speaker wants to say that such an event not meaning he had a lot of time is a permanent truth, so the simple present is used.
  • I wouldn't say it's a permanent truth.
  • It's true at the time of speaking.
  • Johnson13 DIDN'T means the speaker wants to refer to a past event and he wants to focus on the meaning of such a thing on that past occasion, so the simple past is used.
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2 Answers
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Johnson13I think both are correct
They are.
Johnson13DOESN'T means the speaker wants to say that such an event not meaning he had a lot of time is a permanent truth, so the simple present is used.
I wouldn't say it's a permanent truth. It's true at the time of speaking.
Johnson13DIDN'T means the spea
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For the two respective reasons I gave in the first post, are they applicable exactly to the following? (If both choices in the following are correct):

The question I asked are/were different from these.
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