Which sentences are correct?
I am confused about how to obey the sequence of tenses.I am just confused about these sentences,
If the first sentence is in past tense then the remaining should be in past too.
Example:
I thought he would come. Does “would” indicate probability in this sentence? I mean he has not come but maybe he will come.
I heard, you met with an accident.
OR
I heard, you had an accident.
—These sentences indicate that the “subject” knows that he dfinetely met with an accident.
I thought he is angry with me
I thought he was angry with me.
I thought he would be angry with me.
As angry is an adjective So which one is correct from above or all are grammatically correct?
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11 Answers
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I thought he would come: Yes it indicates both probability and intention.
I heard you had an accident. This is preferred, but note that there should be no comma within this sentence. This is actually not DEFINITE knowledge that he had an accident, only an indication of having heard such an account. It allows for the possibility that what we heard was in fact wrong.
Of the last three, the latter two are correct. The first doesn’t agree in tense; thought is past tense, “is” is present tense.
I thought he would come.
I heard you had an accident (no comma)
I thought he was angry with me. (you actually perceived that he was angry with you)
I thought he would be angry with me. (You did not perceive that he was angry with you, but you had expected him to be angry.)
Just curious…is English a second language for you?
@lessonenglish English is very difficult. I could not give you the reasons for the correct sentences myself. I just know them because I grew up speaking it properly. Best wishes to you…..and come back for help.
If the subject knows about the accident for certain, then perhaps it could be two sentences:
“I heard. You had an accident.”
(I think “met with” might also be correct but more formal than regular speech)
I beiieve “met with” would be awkward for sure and possibly incorrect. Can’t tell you why. Just sounds that way to me.
Punctuation is everything!! – @GeorgeGee, I agreed with your statement about the last three sentences, until I realized it could be:
I thought, “he is angry with me.”
_“I heard. You had an accident.” _ Never correct, under most circumstances. I suppose if someone asked, “Are you deaf,” your answer would be an accurate answer (if you were deaf.”
@zenvelo; I thought, ”He is….”
@gailcalled – I was thinking it would be an appropriate response to something like “Sorry I’m late, but I have an excuse.”
@davidgro: Ah, right. Good example. Our language is so interesting, I find. It gets more interesting as I continue to use it, decade after decade.
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