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Tonyscott Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
tense choice
1.He didn't know what a role Alex plays/played in our company.
I find the tense choice a bit tricky. According to some grammar rules, I shouldn't use "plays" given that the whole sentence is in past tense(didn't know). However, if I use "played", it sounds like Alex played one role in our company in the past (when he didn't know) and now he plays another role instead. Well, if this is true, then "played" seems fine, after all the sentence is talking about a past situation. But what if Alex didn't change his role?
I mean, can I use "plays" to indicate that his role is constant? Or do I still have to use "played", no matter what the situation is?
2.He didn't know what would/will happen to this cat.
My question is similar. If nothing has happened to that cat up to now, can I use "will" instead of "would" to indicate that nothing has happend yet? Or do I still have to use "would" no matter what the situation is?
I find the tense choice a bit tricky. According to some grammar rules, I shouldn't use "plays" given that the whole sentence is in past tense(didn't know). However, if I use "played", it sounds like Alex played one role in our company in the past (when he didn't know) and now he plays another role instead. Well, if this is true, then "played" seems fine, after all the sentence is talking about a past situation. But what if Alex didn't change his role?
I mean, can I use "plays" to indicate that his role is constant? Or do I still have to use "played", no matter what the situation is?
2.He didn't know what would/will happen to this cat.
My question is similar. If nothing has happened to that cat up to now, can I use "will" instead of "would" to indicate that nothing has happend yet? Or do I still have to use "would" no matter what the situation is?
Top answer
He didn't know what role Alex plays/played in our company. If Alex is still playing a role in your company, then both tenses are possible. If Alex has left the company, then 'plays' is not possible.
- He didn't know what role Alex plays/played in our company.
- If Alex is still playing a role in your company, then both tenses are possible.
- If Alex has left the company, then 'plays' is not possible.
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4 Answers
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1.He didn't know what role Alex plays/played in our company.
If Alex is still playing a role in your company, then both tenses are possible. If Alex has left the company, then 'plays' is not possible.
If Alex is still playing a role in your company, then both tenses are possible. If Alex has left the company, then 'plays' is not possible.
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Thanks. What I want to know further is, does "plays" have the meaning that Alex's role is constant(without other context) ?
And what about my second sentence?
And what about my second sentence?
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I don't know that 'constant is necessarily an appropriate word. It could be that Alex is somebody who drops in occasionally for some purpose. It could be that his visits are important to the morale or functioning of the company, so he plays a role, but it is not constant.
2. He didn't know what would/will happen to this cat.
This is a similar situation to the first, and t
2. He didn't know what would/will happen to this cat.
This is a similar situation to the first, and t
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fivejedjonI don't know that 'constant is necessarily an appropriate word. It could be that Alex is somebody who drops in occasionally for some purpose. It could be that his visits are important to the morale or functioning of the company, so he plays a role, but it is not constant.Well, I just want to express that his role at past (the time when he didn't kno
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