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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Sequence of tenses
Hi,
"The Independent disclosed last month that David Cameron and the Chancellor, George Osborne, are discussing plans to cut the top rate to 45p or 40p after being told that it is generating only marginal returns for the Exchequer." [From The Independent.]
I've always got a problem with the sequence of tenses in English sentences. Purists say that after a reporting past-tense verb (here: 'disclosed') the following it clauses should have their verbs in past tenses like that: "The Independent disclosed last month that David Cameron and the Chancellor, George Osborne, were discussing plans to cut the top rate to 45p or 40p after being told (having been told) that it was generating only marginal returns for the Exchequer."
I'm afraid that during an exam, if I had written the sentence the way it is put in the article, such a sentence would have been marked as a main grammatical error. Am I right?
Thank you.
"The Independent disclosed last month that David Cameron and the Chancellor, George Osborne, are discussing plans to cut the top rate to 45p or 40p after being told that it is generating only marginal returns for the Exchequer." [From The Independent.]
I've always got a problem with the sequence of tenses in English sentences. Purists say that after a reporting past-tense verb (here: 'disclosed') the following it clauses should have their verbs in past tenses like that: "The Independent disclosed last month that David Cameron and the Chancellor, George Osborne, were discussing plans to cut the top rate to 45p or 40p after being told (having been told) that it was generating only marginal returns for the Exchequer."
I'm afraid that during an exam, if I had written the sentence the way it is put in the article, such a sentence would have been marked as a main grammatical error. Am I right?
Thank you.
Top answer
Purists say that after a reporting past-tense verb (here: 'disclosed') the following it clauses should have their verbs in past tenses- - This is not a requirement even by purists; it is simply an observation of what many native speakers do: regress the verb in the reported clause. However, if the condition in the reported clause still obtains NOW, the regression need not occur and the verb can remain in a present tense. As to what might happen in a test situation, that depends on the prescriptivity of the testing body.
- Purists say that after a reporting past-tense verb (here: 'disclosed') the following it clauses should have their verbs in past tenses- - This is not a requirement even by purists; it is simply an observation of what many native speakers do: regress the verb in the reported clause.
- However, if the condition in the reported clause still obtains NOW, the regression need not occur and the verb can remain in a present tense.
- As to what might happen in a test situation, that depends on the prescriptivity of the testing body.
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2 Answers
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Purists say that after a reporting past-tense verb (here: 'disclosed') the following it clauses should have their verbs in past tenses-- This is not a requirement even by purists; it is simply an observation of what many native speakers do: regress the verb in the reported clause. However, if the condition in the reported clause still obtains NOW, the regression need not occur and the verb
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