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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Mean/meant

Hi,

Should I use 'means' or 'meant' in the sentence here and why?

Ted failed the exam, which means/meant that he had to repeat the course.

Thanks a lot.
  

Top answer

Ted failed the exam, which meant that he had to repeat the course. Meaning: He has repeated the course. Ted failed the exam, which means that he has to repeat the course.

— The Linguist

  • Ted failed the exam, which meant that he had to repeat the course.
  • Meaning: He has repeated the course.
  • Ted failed the exam, which means that he has to repeat the course.
  • Meaning: He hasn't repeated the course yet.
  • The Linguist
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4 Answers
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Ted failed the exam, which meant that he had to repeat the course.

Meaning: He has repeated the course.

Ted failed the exam, which means that he has to repeat the course.

Meaning: He hasn't repeated the course yet.

The Linguist
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Thanks Linguist for your answer to my question.
Can I say
"Ted failed the exam, which means that he had to repeat the course."?

Thanks!
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"Ted failed the exam, which means that he had to repeat the course."?

Yes, it is a present day view on what happened in the past.

"he had to repeat the course" does not necessarily mean that he actually repeated the course. He was required to repeat it in order to pass the course. He could have decided to quit with a failing or incomplete grade.
Regards,
A-
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AnonymousCan I say
"Ted failed the exam, which means that he had to repeat the course."?
Yes, you can. In that case you're acknowledging a sort of universal truth that failing that exam always means having to repeat that course.

CJ
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