Tenses grammar

Question

Im a little confused with the past and present tense

I am learning something that is/was meant to be learnt in the past

My teacher said the Math paper is/was easy
(I have yet to take the exam)

So if something still stays 'true' till today, it will be in present tense?
Could you show some examples to give me a better understanding?
Thanks a lot!

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

I am learning something that is/was meant to be learnt in the past.
My teacher said the Math paper was/is easy.

So if something still stays 'true' till today, it will be in present tense?-- In reported speech, it may remain in present tense if it still holds true today. Most native speakers regress the verb to past tense, though

Ashton goh · Answer

I am learning something that is/was meant to be learnt in the past.

I know that there can be a mix of tenses in a statement, right?
Does 'is/was' belong to the verb 'meant'?

Sorry for asking such questions, as my foundation for English is really atrocious :/

Reported speech as in speaking physically to a person?

Mister Micawber · Answer

Does 'is/was' belong to the verb 'meant'?-- Yes
Reported speech as in speaking physically to a person?-- No, as in telling or writing to a person, or thinking to oneself, what another person said or wrote.

Terryxpress · Answer

Note the difference between Direct Speech, and Reported Speech:
I like ice-cream.
Direct Speech: He said, "I like ice-cream."
Reported Speech: He said that he liked ice-cream.

Understand that in English, there is strict Reported Speech but this is mainly given as an exercise in class, and in exams, to show that you can backshift the tenses of the spoken words.
What speakers do, in general conversation, is indicate that something was said in the past - I told him/he said to me that...
...and then use the tense that seems appropriate NOW. This, I think, is what is causing your confusion.

John: "I am going to the party on Friday."
In strict Reported Speech, that becomes:
John said that he was going to the party on Friday.
Suppose you have just spoken to John on the phone, and your mother asks what he said. This is general conversation, so you would say to your mother:
John said that he's/he is going to the party on Friday.
It would seem very strange to the speaker to be talking in the past tense about a party that is happening next Friday!

More examples are:
Me (to a friend): "I'm/I am moving into a new flat next Saturday. Can you help me move?"
Friend: "No, I'm/I am working that day."
In strict Reported Speech, this would be:
I told him I was moving to a new flat the following Saturday, and asked if he could help me move. He said no, that he was working that day."
But imagine it is a day or two after that conversation. It is Friday, and I move tomorrow. My mother is talking to me about the move:
Mother: Maybe your friend John has some spare time tomorrow and can help you.
Me: I asked him, but he said he is working tomorrow.
Note that when 'reporting' the conversation to my mother, I don't follow the wording precisely; AND that I use the Present Tense, because this is Friday and I am moving/he is working tomorrow.
To say...
Me (to my mother): I asked him, but he was working tomorrow
...is talking about something in the future as if it has already happened and in the past: "... but he was working tomorrow.
That's what I mean about ordinary conversation, when we choose the tense that makes most sense.

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