0
Mojtaba vahdati Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Problem with sequence of tenses in long sentences
I eventually told her mom about it because I thought it was something she should know.
1_I read somewhere that if we have a sequence of verbs and the first one is past the second one should be in the past time either. So why isn't "knew" used in there?
The little girl was very bright, and seemed to be more aware of what was going on than her parents "would like to believe."
2_Could you please provide me an example of such usage of "would like" in a sentence about past? Why does it tense seem to be at present?
1_I read somewhere that if we have a sequence of verbs and the first one is past the second one should be in the past time either. So why isn't "knew" used in there?
The little girl was very bright, and seemed to be more aware of what was going on than her parents "would like to believe."
2_Could you please provide me an example of such usage of "would like" in a sentence about past? Why does it tense seem to be at present?
Top answer
mojtaba vahdati So why isn't "knew" used in there? "should" is a modal verb. Only the plain form of the verb is permitted after a modal verb.
- mojtaba vahdati So why isn't "knew" used in there?
- "should" is a modal verb.
- Only the plain form of the verb is permitted after a modal verb.
- Therefore, after "should" only "know" is grammatical.
- Other forms like "knows", "knowing", or "knew" are all wrong.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
1 Answers
0
mojtaba vahdatiSo why isn't "knew" used in there?"should" is a modal verb. Only the plain form of the verb is permitted after a modal verb. Therefore, after "should" only "know" is grammatical. Other forms like "knows", "knowing", or "knew" are all wrong.
mojtaba vahdati"would like"This case is the same. "would" is a m
0
Related Questions