Please help me with my english

Question

Can someone help me with this and also explain to me why it is acceptable? I heard this in the news from a news presenter saying the below sentence:

- He said increase taxation is not the solution.

Is the above sentence spoken correctly? What I don't understand is that the word "said" being used, which is in the past tense, indicates that this is in the past but why the rest of the sentence(I mean here the word "is" being used) is not also in the past tense? Please explain this to me if one can speak like this?

I also heard on tv whereby this person says the following sentence:

- The policemen said (that) they want you back for questioning.

Is the above sentence spoken correctly? Similar to the first sentence above, what I don't understand is why the use of the word "said" which indicates something happened in the past and thereafter follows by the word "want" which I think should also be in the past tense too but in the sentence it is not. It confuses me as the word "said" indicates that it has happened and so the rest of the sentence should be in the past tense too. You know what I mean? Please explain to me if the above sentence is acceptance? Thank you.

Canadian45 · Accepted Answer

The verbs in a sentence do not need to be of the same tense.

Spongebob123 · Answer

Could you explain to me please? I don't understand as the person saying this is reporting something she heard in the past, so why not all the tenses in the past tense? Please help me with this one as what I learned in school now I am confused.

MalRey · Answer

spongebob123- He said increase taxation is not the solution.

This should be understood as follows: He said [at some point in the past] that increased taxation is not [now] the solution.

spongebob123- The policemen said (that) they want you back for questioning.

This one has the same structure: The policemen said [at some point in the past] that they want you back [now] for questioning.

Spongebob123 · Answer

Thanks guys!

So do you mean that sometimes we can just speak like this and not speak in the way like that of an indirect(reported) speech??

RosemaryOng · Answer

He said increase taxation is not the solution.

Sounds to me more like he is quoting the speaker, thus the reason for the present tense and you need to write it

out this way: He said, "Increase taxation is not the solution." If he's speaking as the third party then it should be

in the past tense, like this: He said that increase taxation was not the solution.

The policemen said (that) they want you back for questioning.

In this case, the speaker should have said: The policemen said that they wanted you back for questioning.

Spongebob123 · Answer

Hi RosenaryOng,

I agree with with you that it should be reported or said just like the way you said it above but that wasn't what I heard at that time in the news from the news presenter. I am sure I heard it and read it correctly because the news came with subtitles. It wasn't written in the form: He said, "Increase taxation is not the solution." It was written like this: He said increase taxation is not the solution. Without quotations so I am sure he wasn't quoting the words. I have also heard of many Americans speaking this way on TV shows that I watch and now I am confused about the use of tenses. The sentence, "He said increase taxation is not the solution." to me is more like an indirect(reported) speech whereby the present tense "is" should be changed to "was", just like what I was taught in school but here it isn't, so I am confused now how I should speak in the future. Other examples which I heard on TV shows are:

- She said that she loves me.

- He added that it is not just for ...

- He said there are dark clouds...

The sentences above are showing someone reporting something she/he heard it in the past and therefore in my opinion the tenses in the rest of the sentences should also be in the past tense. Please correct me if I am wrong. I am trying to learn the proper way to speak English.

Any idea how they should be spoken? Or is this way of speaking acceptable? Please advise me anyone if you are a native Englisg speaker. Thank you very much.

Yoong Liat · Answer

spongebob123Can someone help me with this and also explain to me why it is acceptable? I heard this in the news from a news presenter saying the below sentence:

- He said increase taxation is not the solution. ('is' is used because the speaker was saying that he believes that taxation is not the solution. He does not believe that taxation is the solution.)

- The policemen said (that) they want you back for questioning. ('want' is used because the policemen at the time the speaker was speaking, want that person back for questioning. The policemen want to question that person.)

RosemaryOng · Answer

Hi Spongebob123,

Hope I can be of help to you.

On your reference to "He said increase taxation is not the solution." It can also mean that he said (because action had already taken place) and since tax is presently undergoing an increase, thus the reason for its present tense is not the solution.

She said that she loves me implies that you are telling me what she had said to you and the present tense in she loves me shows that she still loves you. If you put it otherwise, She said that she loved me, then it means that she did love you but not now.
He added that it is not just for ... implies that you are telling me that he had added about "it" which is presently still around is not just for....
He said there are dark clouds... implies that you are telling me what he had said to you about the dark clouds which are presently still floating on top of us

or put it this way:

She / He said / added (in the past tense because action had already taken place) ......... loves / is / are (in the present tense because they are referring to objects that are still there).

Anyway, you should follow what has been taught to you in school. I find that nowadays most editors everywhere from all kinds of media have forgotten about the importance of quality, they are more concerned with the amount of output.

Please help me with my english

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