Hello help me please I want to ask about sequence of tenses of course I will watch completely your videos about it but I need to ask something anyway.Since I don't have it in my language I think I don't understand how it works in the present or even sometimes in the past in general I'll explain for example Peter says: "I speak English every day" so I'll say Peter or he said he spoke English every day??? But it sounds for me like he spoke English every day but now he doesn't speak English every day Like it was before but what now?so if Peter already says:" I spoke English every day" what I must do😢 I must use "spoke" again? He said he spoke English every day?So I don't understand in the first case he says " I speak English every day " but in the second case " I spoke English every day " but anyway I must say "he said he spoke English every day "???but he said two different things why it's the same 😢😢😢 or what or for example Peter says:" I have a car" I'll say he said he had a car but if he says "I had a car " I'll say Peter said he had a car ??? So again how can I understand what does it mean if any American person will say to me " Peter said he had a car " it means he has a car or he had a car 😢😢😢it's totally two different things. And what about Peter says: " I love her" I'll say he said he loved her right? So if Peter says:"I loved her" I'll say he said he had loved her?I said that to my American friend but she has said "we never said it it sounds weird we would say he said he loved her" could you explain me that using my examples of sentences 😢😢😢please 😢😢😢
The rule is pretty straightforward: when reporting someone's words, we must follow the rules of the sequence of tenses. If the reporting verb is in the present, we don't need to change the tense of the verb in the subordinate clause; if it is in the past, we go 'one tense back'. This is what the rule says. In real life, this rule is often 'violated', mainly due to two reasons: first, the speaker considers Past Perfect 'too heavy' or 'too bookish', and second, the situation the speaker talks about is still true and is viewed as present or ongoing. When I teach English, I recommend that my students always follow the rules of the sequence of tenses for one simple reason - to master it. It's very easy to learn to break the rules, isn't it? What's difficult is to drill the patters and to make their use automatic. Now to your examples. Peter said, "I speak English every day" must become "Peter said he spoke English every day". Why? Because the idea is 'tied' to the past. He said it in the past, and it was in the past that he regularly spoke English. Peter says, "I speak English every day" must become "Peter says he speaks English everyday". The tense is not changed here as we still speak about the present; your reporting verb, 'says', is in the present. Peter says, "I spoke English every day" must become "Peter says he spoke English every day". Again, the tenses are not changed because your reporting verb is in the present. Peter said, "I spoke English every day" must become "Peter said he had spoken English every day". We go one tense back from the reporting verb (which is in the Past Simple Tense) and arrive at the Past Perfect Tense. And this is how it should be even though there are native speakers who dislike Past Perfect in their speech. Peter says, "I have a car" must transform into "Peter said he had a car" and yes, we don't know whether he has it now or not. What should concern us is that Peter had a car at the moment of our conversation in the past. And that's it. In real-life situations, though, people do tend to say "he said he has" which is not entirely correct grammatically. The same is true for your last example. "Peter says he loves her", "Peter said he loved her", and "Peter said he had loved her" are three very different ideas. In the first sentence he says he loves her now, in the second sentence he said (in the past) that he loved her (at that same moment when he said it), and in the third sentence he said (in the past) that some time ago, before that moment when he told it to us, he had loved her. These examples with the verb 'love' might sound a bit unnatural only because usually one cannot tell exactly when one falls in or out of love. My advice would still be to follow the rules of the sequence of tenses. Remember that correct use of grammar in general and the sequence of tenses in particular makes your ideas more structured. Hope this helps 🙂
@@comprehensively_english you're amazing I'm so glad you answered it has helped ♥. But I'm sorry I got four questions it's so awkward to ask about your help again but could you help me again.I hope I'm not being rude. I understand you have to spend your time to explain me everything and it's not paid but if you don't mind help please I really thank you for all your help 1)So if people may not use past perfect it means if somebody will say "Peter said he spoke English every day" it can mean " he had spoken English every day"right? Then how i must understand a person tells about the past tense or about the later past (past perfect)I have to understand it from the context or how? 2)there is such a sentence " Police said that they had found the missing girl "can I replace past perfect to past simple in the sentence "Police said that they found the missing girl"3)I heard a man says " I thought it means..." and he said a word I don't remember he was learning Chinese at that moment so he thought that a word meant something let it be " house " so for example he said " I thought it means house " but he must say " I thought it meant house " correct? He made a mistake? 4)also you have said we use sequence of tenses only when a sentence starts with past simple " I thought, I said etc" but what about past continuous can i say " I was thinking you will text" or I was thinking your talking to your mom " or she was saying you can sing " we don't need to use sequence of tenses here?or it's totally not correct to use past continuous in these situations.
@@daly3724 I'm happy to help when I can. 1) Generally speaking, yes, the context is very important. Usually to stress that the time a person speaks about had already gone by the moment of speech in the past, 'before' is used. Also mind that not all - and I believe not even the majority - of English speakers disrespect Past Perfect. 2) No, you must not. According to the rules of grammar, the Past Perfect Tense must be used in the subordinate clause of this sentence to clearly show that one action preceded another action in the past. It's a rule. Otherwise, the reader/listener of this sentence will have all those questions you have and will have to guess when exactly the action took place. 3) Yes and no. Again, according to the rule, he should have said 'it meant', but the rule may be 'violated' when the thing we're talking about is still true. For instance, "He said he knew the Earth is/was round." The Earth is round, isn't it? It's a fact. In such cases Present Simple may be left unchanged (I say 'may be' because if you do change it into Past Simple it will be grammatically correct but many speakers will tell you it sounds a bit weird). 4) I said 'if it is in the past'. It doesn't matter what aspect it is in - simple, continuous, perfect, etc. The reporting verb can be in any of the four past tenses. Speaking about your example, "I was thinking you would text" is what one should say. 'Will' becomes 'would' because it no longer expresses a future action; what was the future in that past moment of speaking/thinking is not the future for us who report these words in the present.
@@comprehensively_english thank you so much for your help 🤗I understood 3 and 4 but I have questions about 1 and 2 1) so if I understand correctly if I say " Piter said" i spoke English every day " And according to the English grammar I need to say " Piter said he had spoken English every day" but native speakers can replace past perfect to past simple and an english native speaker can say "Piter said he spoke English every day"but then we can't understand what a person means if we don't know the context and in turns out it can mean "Piter spoke English every day " and " Piter had spoken English every day " but I guess if an english native speaker will say " Piter said he spoke English every day " a person means past simple that is, in that moment when Piter said it he spoke English every day,right?🙂But If a person doesn't want to use past perfect then they will say " Piter said he spoke English every day before"? 2) I can't understand the example about police " Police said that they had found the missing girl" why I can't use past simple in this sentence.There is the other example where i can replace past perfect to past simple "she told me that she (sent out) the invitations well before the wedding.( had sent)" but I don't understand why I can replace here but I can't replace there or for example "mom thought that her son had done his homework" and it turns out I can replace past perfect to past simple in the sentence or I can't and if I can replace then why and if I can't replace then why as well? I need to watch more your videos you make a very helpful work! Did you make the video about the difference between past simple and present perfect I don't understand the difference well.
@@daly3724 You're welcome. 1) That's correct. "Peter said he spoke English every day" may tell us about the past in general without getting into detail when exactly, some time before the moment of speaking or at the moment of speaking the action took place. "Before" adds more clarity, but again, as a teacher, I have to say that using the Past Simple Tense instead of the Past Perfect Tense grammatically is not correct. 2) The simple answer is you cannot. In all three of your examples Past Perfect must be used, not Past Simple, especially when you say 'well before'. The example with the verb 'love' that we discussed before better illustrates a case where people tend to use Past Simple instead of Past Perfect. As I have already said, the reason for that is the meaning of the verb itself - it is a verb that expresses a feeling. However, even for verbs that express feelings, emotions, states of our mind and so on, replacing Past Perfect with Past Simple is a bad idea because it creates ambiguity. I haven't made a separate video about these two tenses yet, but thank you for letting me know that it might be useful🙂
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You are the best grammar teacher
very useful thank you so much
Hello help me please I want to ask about sequence of tenses of course I will watch completely your videos about it but I need to ask something anyway.Since I don't have it in my language I think I don't understand how it works in the present or even sometimes in the past in general I'll explain for example Peter says: "I speak English every day" so I'll say Peter or he said he spoke English every day??? But it sounds for me like he spoke English every day but now he doesn't speak English every day
Like it was before but what now?so if Peter already says:" I spoke English every day" what I must do😢 I must use "spoke" again? He said he spoke English every day?So I don't understand in the first case he says " I speak English every day " but in the second case " I spoke English every day " but anyway I must say "he said he spoke English every day "???but he said two different things why it's the same 😢😢😢 or what or for example Peter says:" I have a car" I'll say he said he had a car but if he says "I had a car " I'll say Peter said he had a car ??? So again how can I understand what does it mean if any American person will say to me " Peter said he had a car " it means he has a car or he had a car 😢😢😢it's totally two different things. And what about Peter says: " I love her"
I'll say he said he loved her right? So if Peter says:"I loved her" I'll say he said he had loved her?I said that to my American friend but she has said "we never said it it sounds weird we would say he said he loved her" could you explain me that using my examples of sentences 😢😢😢please 😢😢😢
The rule is pretty straightforward: when reporting someone's words, we must follow the rules of the sequence of tenses. If the reporting verb is in the present, we don't need to change the tense of the verb in the subordinate clause; if it is in the past, we go 'one tense back'. This is what the rule says. In real life, this rule is often 'violated', mainly due to two reasons: first, the speaker considers Past Perfect 'too heavy' or 'too bookish', and second, the situation the speaker talks about is still true and is viewed as present or ongoing. When I teach English, I recommend that my students always follow the rules of the sequence of tenses for one simple reason - to master it. It's very easy to learn to break the rules, isn't it? What's difficult is to drill the patters and to make their use automatic.
Now to your examples.
Peter said, "I speak English every day" must become "Peter said he spoke English every day".
Why? Because the idea is 'tied' to the past. He said it in the past, and it was in the past that he regularly spoke English.
Peter says, "I speak English every day" must become "Peter says he speaks English everyday". The tense is not changed here as we still speak about the present; your reporting verb, 'says', is in the present.
Peter says, "I spoke English every day" must become "Peter says he spoke English every day". Again, the tenses are not changed because your reporting verb is in the present.
Peter said, "I spoke English every day" must become "Peter said he had spoken English every day". We go one tense back from the reporting verb (which is in the Past Simple Tense) and arrive at the Past Perfect Tense. And this is how it should be even though there are native speakers who dislike Past Perfect in their speech.
Peter says, "I have a car" must transform into "Peter said he had a car" and yes, we don't know whether he has it now or not. What should concern us is that Peter had a car at the moment of our conversation in the past. And that's it. In real-life situations, though, people do tend to say "he said he has" which is not entirely correct grammatically.
The same is true for your last example. "Peter says he loves her", "Peter said he loved her", and "Peter said he had loved her" are three very different ideas. In the first sentence he says he loves her now, in the second sentence he said (in the past) that he loved her (at that same moment when he said it), and in the third sentence he said (in the past) that some time ago, before that moment when he told it to us, he had loved her.
These examples with the verb 'love' might sound a bit unnatural only because usually one cannot tell exactly when one falls in or out of love.
My advice would still be to follow the rules of the sequence of tenses. Remember that correct use of grammar in general and the sequence of tenses in particular makes your ideas more structured.
Hope this helps 🙂
@@comprehensively_english you're amazing I'm so glad you answered it has helped ♥. But I'm sorry I got four questions it's so awkward to ask about your help again but could you help me again.I hope I'm not being rude. I understand you have to spend your time to explain me everything and it's not paid but if you don't mind help please I really thank you for all your help 1)So if people may not use past perfect it means if somebody will say "Peter said he spoke English every day" it can mean " he had spoken English every day"right?
Then how i must understand a person tells about the past tense or about the later past (past perfect)I have to understand it from the context or how?
2)there is such a sentence " Police said that they had found the missing girl "can I replace past perfect to past simple in the sentence "Police said that they found the missing girl"3)I heard a man says " I thought it means..." and he said a word I don't remember he was learning Chinese at that moment so he thought that a word meant something let it be
" house " so for example he said " I thought it means house " but he must say " I thought it meant house " correct? He made a mistake?
4)also you have said we use sequence of tenses only when a sentence starts with past simple " I thought, I said etc" but what about past continuous can i say " I was thinking you will text" or I was thinking your talking to your mom " or she was saying you can sing " we don't need to use sequence of tenses here?or it's totally not correct to use past continuous in these situations.
@@daly3724 I'm happy to help when I can.
1) Generally speaking, yes, the context is very important. Usually to stress that the time a person speaks about had already gone by the moment of speech in the past, 'before' is used. Also mind that not all - and I believe not even the majority - of English speakers disrespect Past Perfect.
2) No, you must not. According to the rules of grammar, the Past Perfect Tense must be used in the subordinate clause of this sentence to clearly show that one action preceded another action in the past. It's a rule. Otherwise, the reader/listener of this sentence will have all those questions you have and will have to guess when exactly the action took place.
3) Yes and no. Again, according to the rule, he should have said 'it meant', but the rule may be 'violated' when the thing we're talking about is still true. For instance, "He said he knew the Earth is/was round." The Earth is round, isn't it? It's a fact. In such cases Present Simple may be left unchanged (I say 'may be' because if you do change it into Past Simple it will be grammatically correct but many speakers will tell you it sounds a bit weird).
4) I said 'if it is in the past'. It doesn't matter what aspect it is in - simple, continuous, perfect, etc. The reporting verb can be in any of the four past tenses. Speaking about your example, "I was thinking you would text" is what one should say. 'Will' becomes 'would' because it no longer expresses a future action; what was the future in that past moment of speaking/thinking is not the future for us who report these words in the present.
@@comprehensively_english thank you so much for your help 🤗I understood 3 and 4 but I have questions about 1 and 2
1) so if I understand correctly if I say " Piter said" i spoke English every day "
And according to the English grammar I need to say " Piter said he had spoken English every day" but native speakers can replace past perfect to past simple and an english native speaker can say "Piter said he spoke English every day"but then we can't understand what a person means if we don't know the context and in turns out it can mean "Piter spoke English every day " and " Piter had spoken English every day " but I guess if an english native speaker will say " Piter said he spoke English every day " a person means past simple that is, in that moment when Piter said it he spoke English every day,right?🙂But If a person doesn't want to use past perfect then they will say " Piter said he spoke English every day before"?
2) I can't understand the example about police " Police said that they had found the missing girl" why I can't use past simple in this sentence.There is the other example where i can replace past perfect to past simple "she told me that she (sent out) the invitations well before the wedding.( had sent)" but I don't understand why I can replace here but I can't replace there or for example "mom thought that her son had done his homework" and it turns out I can replace past perfect to past simple in the sentence or I can't and if I can replace then why and if I can't replace then why as well?
I need to watch more your videos you make a very helpful work! Did you make the video about the difference between past simple and present perfect I don't understand the difference well.
@@daly3724 You're welcome.
1) That's correct. "Peter said he spoke English every day" may tell us about the past in general without getting into detail when exactly, some time before the moment of speaking or at the moment of speaking the action took place. "Before" adds more clarity, but again, as a teacher, I have to say that using the Past Simple Tense instead of the Past Perfect Tense grammatically is not correct.
2) The simple answer is you cannot. In all three of your examples Past Perfect must be used, not Past Simple, especially when you say 'well before'. The example with the verb 'love' that we discussed before better illustrates a case where people tend to use Past Simple instead of Past Perfect. As I have already said, the reason for that is the meaning of the verb itself - it is a verb that expresses a feeling. However, even for verbs that express feelings, emotions, states of our mind and so on, replacing Past Perfect with Past Simple is a bad idea because it creates ambiguity.
I haven't made a separate video about these two tenses yet, but thank you for letting me know that it might be useful🙂