There are also different options in English. What is the difference between yet, already, still and so far? What is the difference between still and yet in English

The rule of tense agreement is one of the basic laws of the English language, on which all indirect speech.

It is as follows:

If in a complex sentence the verb in the main clause is in one of the past tenses, then in the subordinate clause the verb must be in one of the past tenses ( Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous) or in one of the Future in the Past forms.

There are 3 cases:

• • The action in the subordinate clause occurred simultaneously with the action in the main clause. In this case, tenses are used in the subordinate clause Past Simple And Past Continuous.For example:She said, “I travel a lot.” ⇒ She said she travelled a lot.

    He said, “I 'm reading an amazing book.” ⇒ He said he was reading an amazing book.

  • The action in the subordinate clause preceded the action in the main clause. In this case, the tense is used in the subordinate clause Past Perfect.For example:They said, “We watched a movie yesterday.” ⇒ They said they had watched a movie the day before.
  • The action in the subordinate clause will occur later than the action in the main clause. In this case, one of the forms is used Future in the Past.For example:We said, “OK, we’ll go to the cinema on Saturday” ⇒ We said we would go to the cinema on Saturday.

The table below shows how tenses change when moving from direct to indirect speech.

Note 1

There are, however, cases when the time coordination rule does not apply:

• If a subordinate clause states a well-known fact.

For example:

Everyone except Michael knew that the author of “Animal Farm” is George Orwell. Following the rule of tense agreement, we would have to use the Past Simple in the subordinate clause. But since it is known that the author of the story “Animal Farm” is George Orwell (this is a fact), present time Simple in a subordinate clause does not change to Past Simple.

• In colloquial speech, provided that the speaker’s words convey information that is relevant at the time of speech. For example: Sorry, I didn't know it 's your birthday today. Similarly, following the basic rule, we would have to use the Past Simple tense in the subordinate clause. However, since the speaker’s words convey the state of affairs that is real at the time of speech, Present Simple does not change to Past Simple.

Note 2

You should also know that if in the main clause the verb is in one of the forms of the present tense or future tense, then the rule for agreeing tenses in the subordinate clause does not apply. The time required is used according to the meaning.

He has said, “Well, I’ll discuss everything with my colleagues.” ⇒ He has said that he’ll discuss everything with his colleagues.

Note 3

If in a complex sentence there is a subordinate clause of condition (i.e. entered if, in case, provided, etc.) or time (i.e. entered when, as soon as, till, etc.) relating to the future (that is, one in which the future tense is usually replaced by the present), then when agreeing on tenses in a subordinate clause, the present tense is replaced by the past.

For example:

He said, “I’ll call you when I come home.” ⇒ He said that he would call me when he came home.

IN English language There is a grammatical phenomenon known as consistency, or tense agreement. If in the main part of the sentence the predicate is placed in (mainly in the Past Indefinite), this will entail a change in the verbal forms of the subordinate clause. Most often, such a shift occurs when it is necessary to transform direct speech into indirect speech.

Coordination of times: table and rules

In cases where the main part contains a predicate in the present or future tense, the verb in the subordinate part is not limited by any rules and can appear in any required tense form. However, if in the main sentence the verb acting as a predicate is placed in one of the past tenses, the second part requires changes according to a certain system. There is no such phenomenon in the Russian language. This is one of the many grammatical features that English has (tense agreement). The table will help you see the difference.

Adverbs and pronouns

With changes associated with the transition to indirect speech, transformations occur not only in grammatical forms, but also in some accompanying words: adverbs of time and pronouns.

• He said: "I admire the waterfall in National Park today." He said: “Today I am admiring a waterfall in the National Park.”
  He told us how he admired the waterfall that day. “He told us how he admired the waterfall that day.

• She told us: "Yesterday I bought this turquoise dress." — She told us: “Yesterday I bought this
  She told us that she had bought that turquoise dress the day before. — She told us that she bought this turquoise dress the day before.
  

Modal verbs

There are some peculiarities in the use of modal verbs. When moving to a different time group, some changes are sometimes made.

Changed according to the following system.

He said: "I can fly the aircraft". — He said that he could fly the aircraft.
He said, “I know how to fly a plane.” — He said he could fly a plane.

However, there are a number of verbs that do not change: shouldmustn't,wouldhad better,could, might, ought to, etc.

Exceptions

Coordination of times does not apply to all cases. There are a number of exceptions:

1. If it talks about any scientific law or well-known fact that remains relevant regardless of the influence or opinion of people, then the coordination of times is excluded.

• Our teacher told that air and water are necessary to animals.
  Our teacher said that air and water are necessary for animals.
• Primitive tribes didn't know that the Earth goes round the center of our Solar system — the Sun.
  Primitive tribes did not know that the Earth revolves around the center of our solar system- The sun.

2. When used in a subordinate clause, the verb does not change to another tense.

• If the wind were cold, she would go home. “If the wind had been cold, she would have gone home.”
  I knew that if the wind were cold, she would go home. “I knew that if the wind had been cold, she would have gone home.”

Such a grammatical phenomenon as the coordination of tenses is absent in the Russian language. To master this material, you need not only to have a good understanding of the rules, but also to practice independently composing sentences and dialogues using this topic. One of the best ways is a retelling of dialogues in your own words.

Tense agreement is the rule by which the predicate in a subordinate clause changes its form depending on when the action in the main clause occurs.

In Russian we say this:
I said she runs very fast. - Although the statement was made in the past (I said), the subordinate clause is in the present tense, as in direct speech - I said: “She runs very fast.”

In English, such a construction of a sentence is impossible - the rule of tense agreement requires the use of a different tense of the verb in the subordinate clause.

Donald said that she ran very fast.
Donald said she runs very fast.

I didn’t know when mother would come.
I didn't know when mom would come.

When is tense agreement used in English?

The rules of Sequence of Tenses apply in complex sentences if the predicate in the main sentence is in the past tense:
I said, I told, we thought, they answered, she doubted, etc.
I think it's late.
I think it's too late.

If the subordinate clause answers the question what? and the conjunction that is used, the agreement of tenses is observed.

We won the game.
Alice didn't know that we had won the game.
Alice didn't know we won the game.

Most often, Sequence of Tenses is used when translating from direct speech to indirect speech:

I said, “I won’t pass this exam.”
I said that I wouldn’t pass the exam.
I said I won't pass this exam.

Rules for agreeing tenses in English

1. The action conveyed by the verb in the subordinate clause occurs at the same time as the action in the main clause. In this case, the Sequence of Tenses rule requires putting the verb in the Past Simple (if it is a simple short action) or Past Continuous (if the action is long).

He lied to his parents. We suspected it.
We suspected that he lied to his parents.
We suspected that he was lying to his parents. (in Russian it is permissible to use the verb in the present tense - “lies”).

2. First, the action discussed in the subordinate clause occurred, then in the main clause. In this case, you should use Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous.

David told me that he had never played computer games.
David told me that he had never played computer games.

3. The action in question in the subordinate clause will happen later. In this case, the verb in the subordinate clause is in Future-in-the-Past (would + infinitive).

I believed he would try to get the prize.
I believed that he would try to get the prize.

Be sure to put all verbs in the correct tense form in all subordinate clauses.

I said that Aviva didn’t know that her older brother had visited Oman.
I said that Aviva doesn't know that her older brother visited Oman.

The modal verbs can and may are replaced by could and might.

I doubted that I could jump over the fence.
I doubted that I could jump over the fence.

Exceptions

The agreement of tenses in the English language is not observed when we are talking about a known fact, a scientific truth.

Miss Evans told the 3d graders that all living creatures need water.
Ms. Evans told the third graders that all living things need water.

Also no need to change modals must verbs, ought to and should if they are in a subordinate clause.

The rescuers understood they must work together.
The rescuers knew they had to work together.

Or if the time when the action took place is indicated.

I found out that he graduated from high school in 1997.
I found out that he graduated from high school in 1997.

The rule of tenses is one of the features of the English language. Tense agreement is a special dependence of the verb form of the predicate in the subordinate clause on the tense of the verb in the main clause.

Rules for agreeing times are:

If in the main clause the verb is in any of the present or future tenses, then in the subordinate clause the verb can be in any tense.

Time coordination table No. 1. 12 examples.

If the main clause contains a verb in one of the past tenses, then in the subordinate clause all verbs are also used in one of the past tenses.

Time coordination table No. 2. 8 examples

Changing times is carried out according to the following scheme.

If you need a more detailed explanation, refer to the article, in which we consider each of the cases in detail. If you need more examples, you will find them.

Thus, if in the main clause the verb is in one of the past tenses, then the tenses PastSimple andPastContinuous in the subordinate clause indicate the simultaneity of actions:

Joanna noticed suddenly that I was not listening. “Joanna suddenly noticed that I wasn’t listening.

My first thought was where they were. “My first thought was where are they now?”

He had thought it was his own son. “He thought it was his own son.”

If in the main clause the verb is in one of the past tenses, then the tenses PastPerfect and PerfectPastPerfectContinuous in a subordinate clause indicate that the action described in the subordinate clause occurred before the action in the main one:

I understood that something had happened. – I realized that something had happened.

The fact was that her sister Rose had married her boyfriend. – The fact is that her sister Rose married her boyfriend.

If in the main clause the verb is in one of the past tenses, then the tenses of the Future-in-the-Past group (would instead of will) in the subordinate clause indicate that the action described in the subordinate clause will occur later than the action in the main clause. It can also be a guess about the future from the perspective of the past.

I hoped she would soon be better. “I hoped she would feel better soon.”

The fact remained that none of us would see them till late at night. “The fact remains that none of us saw them until late at night.”

The sudden thought that Nelly would not come at all flashed through his head. “The sudden thought that Nellie wouldn’t come at all flashed through his head.

IN complex sentences, containing more than two main / subordinate clauses, the choice of verb tense in each of the subordinate clauses is carried out depending on the form of the verb in the main clause to which they relate.

Let's look at 2 proposals.

In the first one we see that the main part (1) has one subordinate clause (2). For parts (3) and (4), the main part is part (2), and therefore we coordinate the times of parts (3) and (4) not with part (1), but with part (2).

In the second sentence, the main part (1) has a subordinate clause (2), for part (3) the main part is part (2), and therefore agreement occurs with it.

Sequence of tenses: exceptions to the rules.

As with almost any other rule, there are also exceptions.

The timing rules are not followed in the following three cases:

• when a subordinate clause describes so-called general truths.

The other day I read in a book that everything alive consists mostly of water. The other day I read in a book that all living things are composed mainly of water.

• when a subordinate clause describes actions by referring to the actual present, future or past in dialogue or in radio or television reports.

Maggy, I was saying to you - and I beg you to listen to me - that as far as I have known Mrs. Smith, she has conducted herself well.

“Before the flier crashed,” the operator said ten minutes later, “he gave me information. He told me there are still a few men alive in these mountains.”

• when the predicate verb of the subordinate clause is one of the modal verbs that do not have past tense forms.

Mum said I must come at once.

Mum thought you should come too.

Now you can perform .

A special case of the tense agreement rule is indirect speech, so we also recommend the following article.