tense and accidentally vs by accident

Question

0Yesterday, I went to the registrar office to check my account balance. I was shocked to find out that the balance was negative. I (1)[remembered/remember] clearly (2)[accidentally] overpaying this semester tution fees by five hundred (2)[/by accident] 02br02br00(1) Are both tenses correct in this context depending on the time context the speaker has in mind?02br02br00(2) Are both choices (accidentally/by accident) equally correct?02br02br00Thanks0-

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

0This way tells a story of what happened.02br
00I was 01u00shocked02u00 .... (Then = After being shocked) I 01u00remembered02u00 overpaying ...02br
00This way is a bit anomalous. It doesn't convince me that it makes sense. 02br
00I was 01u00shocked02u00 ... (Now = As I think about it today, possibly long after it happened) I 01u00remember02u00 overpaying ... 02br
02br
00As for 01i00accidentally02i00 and 01i00by accident02i00, either way is fine (placed exactly where you have them in your example).02br
01i00clearl01b00y02b00 accidental01b00ly02b02i00 is a bit repetitive, however. 01i00(...-ly ...-ly)02i00 But then so is 01i01b00by02b00 five hundred 01b00by02b00 accident02i00. 01i00(by... by...) 02i00Some rephrasing may be necessary if you want to polish it further. 02br
00CJ 0-

New2grammar · Answer

0I see your points. Good explanation!. 0-

tense and accidentally vs by accident

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