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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Learning

I need to pretend (that) I UNDERSTOOD him?

Hi, I have a question concering the use of "pretend." As we know, when it comes to a statement that's UNTRUE, past tense is usually used. E.g. "If I WERE you," "I wish I COULD," etc. So, should I say "I need to pretend (that) I UNDERSTOOD him" instead of "I need to pretend (that) I UNDERSTAND him"? (Note: The time setting is the present.) Or, either of them sounds somewhat awkward? Does "I need to pretend TO UNDERSTAND him" sound better?
Thank you for reading this message!
Meng-Ju
  

Top answer

" As we know, when it comes to a statement that's ... ) Or, either of them sounds somewhat awkward? [/nq] "I need to pretend that I understood him" refers to understanding him in the past.

— Usenet

  • " As we know, when it comes to a statement that's ...
  • ) Or, either of them sounds somewhat awkward?
  • [/nq] "I need to pretend that I understood him" refers to understanding him in the past.
  • "I need to pretend that I understand him" refers to understanding him in the present.
  • The verb "pretend" doesn't requitre the time shift you refer to.
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2 Answers
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[nq:1]Hi, I have a question concering the use of "pretend." As we know, when it comes to a statement that's ... is the present.) Or, either of them sounds somewhat awkward? Does "I need to pretend TO UNDERSTAND him" sound better?[/nq]
"I need to pretend that I understood him" refers to understanding him in the past. "I need to pretend that I understand him" refers to understanding him in the p
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The use of the subjunctive is, unfortunely, not as well covered in contemporary EFL teaching materials as it once was. The reason is that, for communicative purposes, the form does not carry a lot of important meaning a speaker or listener can't cope without. Valuable teaching time is therefore devoted to other, more functionally important grammar topics. However, one of the downsides of this is t
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