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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Say or Said
I understand that the correct phrase should be "what made you SAY that" but my question is, why is it not "SAID" since its an action in the past right (Made) ?
Top answer
You are right about the action being in the past. However, said is ungrammatical because it would be a main verb, and there is no subject for it. The you that precedes it isn't a grammatical subject.
- You are right about the action being in the past.
- However, said is ungrammatical because it would be a main verb, and there is no subject for it.
- The you that precedes it isn't a grammatical subject.
- It's the object of made, and the grammatical subject of the sentence is what.
- Say is a plain/bare infinitive, not a present tense form of the verb.
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1 Answers
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You are right about the action being in the past. However, said is ungrammatical because it would be a main verb, and there is no subject for it. The you that precedes it isn't a grammatical subject. It's the object of made, and the grammatical subject of the sentence is what. Say is a plain/bare infinitive, not a present tense form of the verb. Since English has so few
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