tense agreement

[MadHorse]

Is this sentence correct?

"I was just wondering if you have talked it over with James about whether Ariel can come visiting us during the winter break."

I have doubt because its tenses seem not agree with each other.

[Tdol]

There's no real problem with the tenses- the past tense is used to be tentative rather than to indicate past time.

[MrPedantic]

Is this sentence correct?

"I was just wondering if you have talked it over with James about whether Ariel can come visiting us during the winter break."

I have doubt because its tenses seem not agree with each other.

In addition to tdol's comment:

You can if you wish use the past perfect tense in the IF clause:

"I was just wondering if you had spoken to James about whether Ariel can come and visit us during the winter break."

MrP

[MadHorse]

Many thanks, tdol and MrPedantic.


If it is correct, then the following must also be correct?
I thought adj means adjective.

Somehow it does not sound right to me; just want to make sure.
I'd appreciate any comment on this.

[MrPedantic]

Hello MH

1. I thought (that) X.

If X is still or generally true, you can put it either in the past tense (to accord with 'thought') or the present tense (to accord with the meaning). So:

2. I thought adj. meant adjective.

– "meant" accords with "thought".

3. I thought adj. means adjective.

– "means" accords with the sense of the sentence ("adj." still means "adjective").

I prefer the #2 form; but many native speakers would prefer #3. (In fact, for many native speakers, the preference is unconscious; they may become confused once they start to think about it consciously.)

By the way, I forgot to mention another version of your original example:

4. I was just wondering if you had spoken to James about whether Ariel could come and visit us during the winter break.

Here, all the tenses are in accord.

MrP

[MadHorse]

Your clarification is of great, great help to me, MrPedantic.

[MrPedantic]

You're welcome, MH!

MrP