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Zhfan Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Rookie here. Need help.

Hello everybody. I'm so happy to be here and take advices from youEmotion: smile

Recently I heard about the sentences that we talk about events happening simultaneously in the past and in the present.

For example: "I thought the dishwasher wasn't working" means that dishwasher isn't working right now,at the moment. And when we say: "I thought the dishwasher didn't work". It means that the dishwasher doesn't work at all, all the time. Right? And if if so, why we can say this: "I heard you like that" Why do we use the present simple for the second person?

And the second question I have is my sentence I'm not sure whether it's right: "I've got to do all the things that will never do themselves"

P.S. And if it's possible could you correct all my mistakes in this whole question? I would appreciate it very much!

And thanks in advance! Emotion: smile
  

Top answer

Hi Zhfan; I'm so happy to be here and take advice (advice is a non-count noun) from you. Recently I heard about the sentences that we talk (the subject of talk is that) about events happening simultaneously in the past and in the present. For example: "I thought the dishwasher wasn't working" means that dishwasher isn't working right now, at the moment.

— AlpheccaStars

  • Hi Zhfan; I'm so happy to be here and take advice (advice is a non-count noun) from you.
  • Recently I heard about the sentences that we talk (the subject of talk is that) about events happening simultaneously in the past and in the present.
  • For example: "I thought the dishwasher wasn't working" means that dishwasher isn't working right now, at the moment.
  • Not exactly.
  • It means that in the past time, the point at which you "thought," the dishwasher was broken and not functional.
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6 Answers
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Hi Zhfan;

I'm so happy to be here and take advice (advice is a non-count noun) from you.

Recently I heard about the sentences that we talk (the subject of talk is that) about events happening simultaneously in the past and in the present.
For example: "I thought the dishwasher wasn't working" means that dishwas
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Hi, Alphecca and many many thanks!! But I don't quite understand how to say if something never changes its position in the time, for example: "She said that she knew it" but now she doesn't forget it. Or it's not right explanation? And can we just say "She said that she know it?" I think we can't. And when we want to say that a girl knew something and forgot it in the past, can we say this
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She said that she knew it.

This is just reported (indirect speech). In direct speech it is:

She said, "I know it."

So at the time when she spoke, she claimed knowlege of "it." But that knowledge can be lost or disputed.

For example:

She said that she knew how to multiply six-digit numbers in her head, but when I asked her to multiply 78 by 23
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Thank you! And finally, what about "She said that she'd known it"?
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"She said that she'd known it."

Usually we have some time phrase with the past perfect. There is a duration of the knowledge. These are very common:

She said that she'd known it for many years.

She said that she'd known it all along.

She said that she'd known it all her life.
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Okay, it's all clear now. Thanks a lot for the help and good luck! Emotion: smile
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