was?????

[gulrina]

"I was wondering if any aone could explain me.........."

it simply means explain me bla bla bla
but my question is why we use "was" here however its a present tense

[Philly]

Hi gulrina
First I'd like to tell you that you cannot say "explain me". Instead you should say "explain it to me" or "explain why 'was' is used", etc.
.
Now let me ask you a question about your example ("I was wondering if anyone could explain me.........."):
What does could explain mean? Is it:
1) past tense of "can explain"
OR
2) a polite form of "can explain"
Which meaning does "could explain" have in your example? What do you think? Is it the past tense or just polite?
.
If you decided that it's polite (2), then you're correct!
.
And now we'll finally come to your question:
"I was wondering..." means basically the same thing as "I would like to know..." (polite form)
.
Hope that helps.
Amy

[gulrina]

thanks 4 ur guindance Amy
u incresed my knowledge that "I was wondering" means "I would like to know" (in polite form).

[Casiopea]

In addition,

Polite form: I was wondering ... ? (e.g., if you could help me)
<I don't know if you can help me or not, so you are not obligated to do so.>

[nyggus]

Hi All:
Nevertheless, is the form "I am wondering... " incorrect? It is used very often (more than 8,000,000 results in Google).

Best,
Nyggus

[MrPedantic]

Hello Nyggus

No, that's fine – in the right context:

1. I'm staring at my television and wondering why the referee disallowed that goal.
2. I'm wondering whether I should order champagne truffles or a large piece of pizza.

— in these two examples, the present progressive simply expresses the "now-ness" of the "wondering".

3. I was wondering why the referee disallowed that goal; but then I watched the replay, and all became clear.

— here, the past progressive expresses the "past-ness" of the "wondering".

4. I was wondering whether you'd mind if I ordered champagne truffles.

— here, the past progressive expresses "politeness" or "tentativeness" or "deference".

MrP