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JungKim Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

I was holding off until I can/could talk to you in person.

Say, I had something to talk to my friend about. It's not something that could be texted or discussed over the phone, but it's something that would require a face-to-face conversation. So I finally met the friend and said, "I've got something to tell you. I was holding off until I could talk to you in person."

Is the last sentence natural?

Also, is it ever possible to say instead "I was holding off until I can talk to you in person."?
  

Top answer

That is a natural sentence. You have something to tell them, so why haven't you told them already? Because you held off until you were in person.

— Ronaa

  • That is a natural sentence.
  • You have something to tell them, so why haven't you told them already?
  • Because you held off until you were in person.
  • Also, you wouldn't not use can .
  • "I was holding off (past tense) until I could talk to you in person (past tense)" Good luck!
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3 Answers
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That is a natural sentence.

You have something to tell them, so why haven't you told them already? Because you held off until you were in person.

Also, you wouldn't not use can.
"I was holding off (past tense) until I could talk to you in person (past tense)"

Good luck!
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Thank you ronaa.
The reason why I'm asking if 'can' is possible is because in the context it's in the present time that I talk to my friend in person. I mean, why isn't it possible to use the present tense 'can' for the present time?
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ronaayou wouldn't not use can.
You used 'not' twice here. Did you mean 'you wouldn't use can'?

I'd like ronaa or anyone else to answer this question and my earlier one (why it's not possible to use the present tense 'can' for the present time.)
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