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Usenet Posted 23 years ago
Usage

Where are you from?

I think normally people ask "where are you from" when asking for nationality. Would "where were you from" be considered wrong?
Assuming one person asks the other "where are you from", the listener didn't hear it clearly. A third person repeats the question for the listener:
"He said where were you from."
"He said where are you from."
Which one is correct?
A grammar rule I want to make sure of is if it is okay to use both present and past tenses on one sentence like the 2nd reply.
  

Top answer

[nq:1]I think normally people ask "where are you from" when asking for nationality. Would "where were you from" be considered ... [/nq] In such a case, it depends on whether you intend to represent the exact quotation.

  • [nq:1]I think normally people ask "where are you from" when asking for nationality.
  • Would "where were you from" be considered ...
  • [/nq] In such a case, it depends on whether you intend to represent the exact quotation.
  • If you are, then quotation marks must be used when writing the sentence.
  • " Otherwise, use the appropriate past tense, pronouns, and word order: He asked where you were from.
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2 Answers
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[nq:1]I think normally people ask "where are you from" when asking for nationality. Would "where were you from" be considered ... of is if it is okay to use both present and past tenses on one sentence like the 2nd reply.[/nq]
In such a case, it depends on whether you intend to represent the exact quotation. If you are, then quotation marks must be used when writing the sentence. Also, because
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[nq:2]I think normally people ask "where are you from" when ... and past tenses on one sentence like the 2nd reply.[/nq]
[nq:1]In such a case, it depends on whether you intend to represent the exact quotation. If you are, then quotation ... were you from.) She replied that she was from Chicago. He said that his father had worked in a factory.[/nq]
Note that sometimes the appropriate tense

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