Simple present or simple past tense after “said”?
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They said they were good friends.
They said they are good friends.
Which one is correct? For me 1. sounds like I'm implying they're not good friends now, but this isn't what I want to say. And 2. is a bit weird because "said" happened in the past and when they "said" something, shouldn't it be about the past (the present for them)?
tenses clauses
asked Dec 12 at 2:27
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
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down vote
favorite
They said they were good friends.
They said they are good friends.
Which one is correct? For me 1. sounds like I'm implying they're not good friends now, but this isn't what I want to say. And 2. is a bit weird because "said" happened in the past and when they "said" something, shouldn't it be about the past (the present for them)?
tenses clauses
asked Dec 12 at 2:27
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
1
You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
Dec 12 at 3:18
1
Both are perfectly fine. Reported speech can use the present tense if the thing reported is still true. Which is better in any given situation depends on context. Barring any other context, if the statement described happened a year ago, the first seems more natural to me; if it happened yesterday, the second seems more natural to me.
– Jason Bassford
Dec 12 at 16:42
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
They said they were good friends.
They said they are good friends.
Which one is correct? For me 1. sounds like I'm implying they're not good friends now, but this isn't what I want to say. And 2. is a bit weird because "said" happened in the past and when they "said" something, shouldn't it be about the past (the present for them)?
tenses clauses
asked Dec 12 at 2:27
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
They said they were good friends.
They said they are good friends.
Which one is correct? For me 1. sounds like I'm implying they're not good friends now, but this isn't what I want to say. And 2. is a bit weird because "said" happened in the past and when they "said" something, shouldn't it be about the past (the present for them)?
tenses clauses
tenses clauses
asked Dec 12 at 2:27
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
asked Dec 12 at 2:27
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
asked Dec 12 at 2:27
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
asked Dec 12 at 2:27
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
asked Dec 12 at 2:27
Lai Yu-Hsuan
1092
1092
1
You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
Dec 12 at 3:18
1
Both are perfectly fine. Reported speech can use the present tense if the thing reported is still true. Which is better in any given situation depends on context. Barring any other context, if the statement described happened a year ago, the first seems more natural to me; if it happened yesterday, the second seems more natural to me.
– Jason Bassford
Dec 12 at 16:42
add a comment |
1
You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
Dec 12 at 3:18
1
Both are perfectly fine. Reported speech can use the present tense if the thing reported is still true. Which is better in any given situation depends on context. Barring any other context, if the statement described happened a year ago, the first seems more natural to me; if it happened yesterday, the second seems more natural to me.
– Jason Bassford
Dec 12 at 16:42
1
1
You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
Dec 12 at 3:18
You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
Dec 12 at 3:18
1
1
Both are perfectly fine. Reported speech can use the present tense if the thing reported is still true. Which is better in any given situation depends on context. Barring any other context, if the statement described happened a year ago, the first seems more natural to me; if it happened yesterday, the second seems more natural to me.
– Jason Bassford
Dec 12 at 16:42
Both are perfectly fine. Reported speech can use the present tense if the thing reported is still true. Which is better in any given situation depends on context. Barring any other context, if the statement described happened a year ago, the first seems more natural to me; if it happened yesterday, the second seems more natural to me.
– Jason Bassford
Dec 12 at 16:42
add a comment |
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1
You are right to think .2. weird. The right sequence of tenses is .1. "They said they were..." If you need to remove ambiguity say, "They said they were still good friends."
– Hugh
Dec 12 at 3:18
1
Both are perfectly fine. Reported speech can use the present tense if the thing reported is still true. Which is better in any given situation depends on context. Barring any other context, if the statement described happened a year ago, the first seems more natural to me; if it happened yesterday, the second seems more natural to me.
– Jason Bassford
Dec 12 at 16:42