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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
means or meant
Although he had studied german at school he soon discovered that he could not remember much. He missed an important meeting because he had forgotten that halb neun in German (mean)...... half past eight in English.
In my opinion only "means" fits here because it's "general truth" and the verb should not be changed. What do you think?
In my opinion only "means" fits here because it's "general truth" and the verb should not be changed. What do you think?
Top answer
In parentheses you have mean , not means . You say that the answer is means and the verb should not be changed, implying that you did not change the verb. But it seems to me that you've made a change by adding s .
- In parentheses you have mean , not means .
- You say that the answer is means and the verb should not be changed, implying that you did not change the verb.
- But it seems to me that you've made a change by adding s .
- As to means and meant : Backshifting is always correct but not always required.
- had forgotten that it meant (with backshifting) had forgotten that it means (without backshifting) Both valid.
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1 Answers
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In parentheses you have mean, not means. You say that the answer is means and the verb should not be changed, implying that you did not change the verb. But it seems to me that you've made a change by adding s.
As to means and meant: Backshifting is always correct but not always required.
had forgotten that it meant (wit
As to means and meant: Backshifting is always correct but not always required.
had forgotten that it meant (wit
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