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Lucas21c Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

sequence of tenses

Could you confirm whether both of (A) and (B) are okay in the following sentence? Thank you.

I heard he [ (A) is / (B) was ] smart.
(He is still smart now whether you want to convey that thought with this sentence or not)
  

Top answer

Both are possible.

— Fivejedjon

  • Both are possible.
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3 Answers
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If I say "I heard he was smart", don't you know for sure if he is still smart now?
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We don't know for sure, but we'd normally assume that hee still is, unless the word 'was' is stressed inn speech, or context suggests that he may not be now. For example: I heard that he was smart when he was st school gives us no idea about whether or not he still is. I heard he was smart before his accident may well suggest that he is no longer smart. Context is important.
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