sequence of tenses

sequence of tenses
sequence of tenses
This refers to the pattern of tenses in a sequence of verbs within a sentence. If a simple statement such as I'm afraid I haven't finished is put into indirect speech by means of a reporting verb such as said, thought, etc., the tense of the reported action changes in accordance with the time perspective of the speaker: He said he was afraid he hadn't finished. However, the tense of the reported verb can stay the same if the time relative to the speaker is the same as that relative to the person reported: She likes beans can be converted either to She said she liked beans or to She said she likes beans, and I won't be here tomorrow can be converted either to He said he wouldn't be here tomorrow or to He said he won't be here tomorrow.

Modern English usage. 2014.

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