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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
Present or past tense
Hi,
'He wanted to catch the 7.30 train, which means/meant he had to leave the house at 6.00.'
Should we use 'means'(present tense) or 'meant'(past tense) here?
Thanks
'He wanted to catch the 7.30 train, which means/meant he had to leave the house at 6.00.'
Should we use 'means'(present tense) or 'meant'(past tense) here?
Thanks
Top answer
' Should we use 'means'(present tense) or 'meant'(past tense) here? You'll hear people say both, but I'd say 'meant' if I wanted to speak carefully. I wouldn't say 'means' is completely wrong.
- ' Should we use 'means'(present tense) or 'meant'(past tense) here?
- You'll hear people say both, but I'd say 'meant' if I wanted to speak carefully.
- I wouldn't say 'means' is completely wrong.
- Consider this.
- 30 train, it would be OK to say 'means' because it's a general truth that is equally true of past days and of today.
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3 Answers
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Hi,
'He wanted to catch the 7.30 train, which means/meant he had to leave the house at 6.00.'
Should we use 'means'(present tense) or 'meant'(past tense) here?
You'll hear people say both, but I'd say 'meant' if I wanted to speak carefully.
I wouldn't say 'means' is completely wrong. Consider this.
'He wanted to catch the 7.30 train, which means/meant he had to leave the house at 6.00.'
Should we use 'means'(present tense) or 'meant'(past tense) here?
You'll hear people say both, but I'd say 'meant' if I wanted to speak carefully.
I wouldn't say 'means' is completely wrong. Consider this.
00
Hi Clive,
Thank you very much for your wonderful explanation. Is it possible that we can only use 'meant'(past tense) in some cases?
I have another example as follows:
'He didn't pass the exam, which means/meant he had to repeat the course.'
Could we use both 'means' and 'meant' here?
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much for your wonderful explanation. Is it possible that we can only use 'meant'(past tense) in some cases?
I have another example as follows:
'He didn't pass the exam, which means/meant he had to repeat the course.'
Could we use both 'means' and 'meant' here?
Thank you very much.
00
Hi,
I would say:
which means... = this fact implies that...
which meant... = that fact implied that...
But remember that just because you use a past tense, it doesn't mean something is not true anymore. You can use it just to talk from a past point of view, for example.
So I would say means/meant are interchangeable in most cases, although one might soun
I would say:
which means... = this fact implies that...
which meant... = that fact implied that...
But remember that just because you use a past tense, it doesn't mean something is not true anymore. You can use it just to talk from a past point of view, for example.
So I would say means/meant are interchangeable in most cases, although one might soun
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