Sequence of tense when using Although, Because, ...

Question

Is it correct to use a past tense in a dependent clause when the main clause is in the simple present tense or vice versa?

(i) Even if Greek Fire really existed, its composition is a matter of speculation.

(iii) Since her due date is in September, she spent all June and July exercising yoga (, but not August.)

P.S. I surfed the internet looking for the answer but what I found was nothing but tense sequence and back-shifting in indirect reporting (such as "Joe said his eyes were/are blue"). I know the dependency of clauses ~~in most situations~~ is in a way that instead of using a present tense, it is clearly better to use a present perfect tense, but I want to know whether there is a grammar rule for the tense sequence when subordinating conjunctions are used? or, is it simply the same as the one for indirect reporting sentences?

I am reviewing a manuscript which says "Although researchers explored the concept from different perspectives, it can be concluded that it always contains the following three aspects ...". Shall I ask the author revise their sentence so that it reads "Although researchers have explored the concept from different perspectives, it can be concluded that it always contains the following three aspects ..."?, or, is it fine as is?

Thanks

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

The sentence, "Even if Greek Fire really existed, its composition is a matter of conjecture.", is okay.

The sentence, "Since here due date is in Sept., she spent all June and July doing yoga.", would be okay - the phrase "exercising yoga" is ungrammatical.

In the manuscript text, the meaning is different with "have explored." "Explored" means the researchers looked at the concept in the past and have concluded their observations. "Have explored" carries with it the implication that the researchers may still be looking at the concept. So the wording should be left as is.

CalifJim · Answer

RiskyI surfed the internet looking for the answer but what I found was nothing but tense sequence and back-shifting in indirect reporting (such as "Joe said his eyes were/are blue").

That's probably because there is no special rule for other constructions except that the tenses should make sense in matching the time the events occurred, which is sometimes indicated quite clearly with adverbs of time.

Most of the examples I found online with 'because' and 'although' had the same tense in both clauses. Here are some exceptions:

West coach Melanie Korte resigned last month because she is an expectant mother.
Traditionally, lamb was on the spring menu, because this is when they were born.
We both have the same mind-set this season because of what took place last year.
Deputies knew where to find Burr because they had had earlier contacts with him.

Although it has started to open up, Libya is still not an easy country to visit.
Almost 16,000 people died in the disaster, although many remain unaccounted for.
Although he rotated out of the FOMC this year, he's still managing to make news.
Although hindsight has tightened it, Britpop was by no means a unified movement.
Although the number of trapped atoms recorded was small, the team is optimistic.

Where 'since' is concerned, the pattern PRES PERF since PAST appears quite often, where the since-clause establishes the early limit of the action in the main clause.

The Carmichael family has suffered more tragedy since the bodies were unearthed.
Robert Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since the nation achieved independence in 1980.
Education has been a central part of the museum's mission since it first opened.
I selected this song because it has been a favorite of mine since I was a child.
Since the news broke last Friday, three more girls have come forward, Bell said.

RiskyI am reviewing a manuscript which says "Although researchers explored the concept from different perspectives, it can be concluded that it always contains the following three aspects ...". Shall I ask the author revise their sentence so that it reads "Although researchers have explored the concept from different perspectives, it can be concluded that it always contains the following three aspects ..."?, or, is it fine as is?

It's fine as it is, but the revision is just a little better. I'd ask for the revision.

CJ

Sequence of tense when using Although, Because, ...

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