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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
I'm confused?
I took this test (http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs3.htm) and the answer was "The doctor said that Tom was too sick to go to work and that he needed to stay at home for a couple of days."
The question is, shouldn't it be "The doctor said that Tom was too sick to go work and that he NEEDS (instead of needed) to stay home for a couple days."?
Im trying to improve my English skills. Many thanks in advance.
The question is, shouldn't it be "The doctor said that Tom was too sick to go work and that he NEEDS (instead of needed) to stay home for a couple days."?
Im trying to improve my English skills. Many thanks in advance.
Top answer
The main clause action refers to the past and it is the reason of choosing'' needed'' . The doctor said that Tom was too sick to go to work and that he needed to stay at home for a couple days.
- The main clause action refers to the past and it is the reason of choosing'' needed'' .
- The doctor said that Tom was too sick to go to work and that he needed to stay at home for a couple days.
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6 Answers
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Hi Anonymous.The main clause action refers to the past and it is the reason of choosing'' needed''
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The doctor said that Tom was too sick to go to work and that he needed to stay at home for a couple days.
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The doctor said that Tom was too sick to go to work and that he needed to stay at home for a couple days.
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Your version of the sentence is perfectly good English and is quite possible. Your answer is wrong only because the exercise was about simple past versus past continuous. Simple present was not one of the choices. Take a tip from an ace test-taker—Rule 1: Read the instructions all the way through before you do anything else.
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The doctor says, "You are too sick to go to work and you need to stay home."
The doctor said that he is too sick and needs to stay home.
or
The doctor said that he was too sick and needed to stay home.
You shouldn't mix the tenses - either backshift to was/needed or keep it in the present (test taking strategies aside), but don't say "was/needs" or "is/needed."
The doctor said that he is too sick and needs to stay home.
or
The doctor said that he was too sick and needed to stay home.
You shouldn't mix the tenses - either backshift to was/needed or keep it in the present (test taking strategies aside), but don't say "was/needs" or "is/needed."
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Grammar GeekThe doctor says, "You are too sick to go to work and you need to stay home."The doctor said that he is too sick and needs to stay home.orThe doctor said that he was too sick and needed to stay home.You shouldn't mix the tenses - either backshift to was/needed or keep it in the present (test taking strategies aside), but don't say "was/needs" or "is/needed."
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Isn't "he" ambiguous ? Shouldn't the line be ...
The doctor said that Tom was too sick to go to work and that Tom needed to stay home for a couple of days.
Just my thoughts. Sorry I did not answer the original question.
The doctor said that Tom was too sick to go to work and that Tom needed to stay home for a couple of days.
Just my thoughts. Sorry I did not answer the original question.
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No. Clearly, Tom is the one who is sick and because Tom is sick, he needs to stay home. Why would the doctor volunteer unrelated information that the doctor needed to stay home? It would require a very specific context for that to make sense.
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