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Thread: Is it correct to say?

  1. #1
    blissful is offline Junior Member
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    Default Is it correct to say?

    Hi

    Is it correct to say?

    1) I know I had made a mistake.

    2) He believes that I did not get upset.
    Last edited by blissful; 31-Jan-2012 at 22:04.

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    Default Re: Is it correct to say?

    In the right context, both are possible. It depends on the message you want to convey.

    We need a lot more context before we can say for certain whether the tenses in such utterances are appropriate or not.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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    blissful is offline Junior Member
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    Default Re: Is it correct to say?

    Hi

    Please help to elaborate on the scenarios/conditions when we would use sentence (1) or (2).

    Thank you.

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    Default Re: Is it correct to say?

    It would be more useful if you came up with contexts in which you thought they might be appropriate. We can then comment.
    Barb_D and bhaisahab like this.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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    Rover_KE is offline VIP Member
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    Default Re: Is it correct to say?

    Quote Originally Posted by blissful View Post

    Please help to elaborate on the scenarios/conditions when we would use sentence (1) or (2).
    The idea is, blissful, that you give us the context in which you think a sentence might be used, rather than giving us a sentence and asking us to invent a scenario in which it might be used.

    Is this some sort of homework exercise?

    Rover
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    blissful is offline Junior Member
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    Threadstarter / Original Poster

    Default Re: Is it correct to say?

    Hi

    Oh no, not homework.

    I know I had made a mistake.

    I made an error at 9am.One hour later, I realised that I’ve made a mistake.
    So may I say “I know I had made a mistake.” or “I know I made a mistake.” or “I know I've made a mistake.”

    He believes that I did not get upset.

    Alan and I were having some arguments in the morning. Later in the afternoon, may I say “He believes that I did not get upset.” or He believes that I haven’t get upset.

    Thank you
    Last edited by blissful; 01-Feb-2012 at 10:07.

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    Default Re: Is it correct to say?

    Quote Originally Posted by blissful View Post

    I know I had made a mistake.

    I made an error at 9am.One hour later, I realised that I’ve made a mistake.
    So may I say “I know I had made a mistake.” or “I know I made a mistake.” or “I know I've made a mistake.”
    It's hard to think of a good reason to use the past perfect. The simple past certainly works. If you are doing something at 10 am that relates to the mistake at 9 am, then the present perfect also works.

    Quote Originally Posted by blissful
    He believes that I did not get upset.

    Alan and I were having some arguments in the morning. Later in the afternoon, may I say “He believes that I did not get upset.” or He believes that I haven’t get upset.
    "He believes that I did not get upset.” That's possible. You are thinking NOW about how his thinking NOW on your reaction THEN.

    "He believes that I haven’t get upset." Not grammatical. "I haven't gotten upset" is grammarical, but doesn't work in this sequence of tenses.
    I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.

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    Default Re: Is it correct to say?

    Quote Originally Posted by Barb_D View Post

    "He believes that I haven’t get upset." Not grammatical. "I haven't gotten upset" is grammatical, but doesn't work in this sequence of tenses.
    BE speakers would not say 'I haven't gotten upset'.

    Rover

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    Default Re: Is it correct to say?

    Would you say "I haven't become upset" or something else?

    Surely "I haven't get upset" (the original) is not right?
    I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.

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    Default Re: Is it correct to say?

    Quote Originally Posted by Barb_D View Post
    Would you say "I haven't become upset" or something else?

    Surely "I haven't get upset" (the original) is not right?
    "I haven't get upset" is most certainly not right. Depending on the context we might say "I didn't get upset", "I wasn't upset". "I haven't got upset" is theoretically possible in response to "You've got upset!".
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