0
Persian Learner Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Tense sequence

Hi.

They tell us what you have heard.

In my opinion, the above sentence doesn't have a proper tense sequence. I told my professor at university that it should be "They told us what you have heard." He said, "if you use 'told' then the dependent clause must have past perfect tense." Finally he explained that the given sentence means they repeatedly tell us what they have heard!

Is it really okay to use such tense sequence?

  

Top answer

Persian Learner They tell us what you have heard. Persian Learner they repeatedly tell us what they have heard Which should it be? )

— GPY

  • Persian Learner They tell us what you have heard.
  • Persian Learner they repeatedly tell us what they have heard Which should it be?
  • )
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

2 Answers
0
Persian LearnerThey tell us what you have heard.
Persian Learner they repeatedly tell us what they have heard

Which should it be? (The second one appears more likely.)

0
0
Persian LearnerIs it really okay to use such a tense sequence?

Yes. These are all OK.

They tell us what you have heard.
They tell us what you heard. 
They tell  us what you had heard.
They told us what you heard.
They told us what you have heard.
They t
0

Related Questions