Using "would" twice in a sentence
(1) I said to Jack, "Two weeks ago, I thought Bill would say to you that he would be moving out of my apartment soon."
Jack said, "No. I haven't seen him for the past four weeks."
Some of my non-native English speaking friends think it's okay. However, my other friends think it's wrong. What is your opinion? Thank you.
Top answer
Try not to use "say to you". It's "tell you". OK?
- Try not to use "say to you".
- It's "tell you".
- OK?
- The sentence is not wrong, but native speakers would say it differently: I thought Bill would have told you two weeks ago that he was moving out of my apartment soon.
- If you have a phrase like 'two weeks ago' in the clause following I thought and similar expressions, you most likely need a would have construction.
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Try not to use "say to you". It's "tell you". OK?
The sentence is not wrong, but native speakers would say it differently:
I thought Bill would have told you two weeks ago that he was moving out of my apartment soon.
If you have a phrase like 'two weeks ago' in the clause following I thought and similar expressions, you most likely need a would have con
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