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Thread: grammar

  1. #1
    Hanka is offline Senior Member
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    Default grammar

    Hi,

    could you please check the highlighted text:

    I further applied to the European Commission in Brussels for help. The European Commission investigated the whole matter and recommended that I contact/contacted the Ministry of Transport, Department of Civil Aviation, in the first place. After long waiting, I obtained a message stating that I should address directly to your office and ask you to determine the real culprit. If you are able to definitely determine to whom the whole problem is attributable, I will enforce the compensation by legal action. If, however, the encountered difficulties are/were attributable to your company, I would ask for payment of the compensation.

    Thank you very much.

    Hanka

  2. #2
    MikeNewYork's Avatar
    MikeNewYork is offline VIP Member
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    Teacher

    Default Re: grammar

    Quote Originally Posted by Hanka View Post
    Hi,

    could you please check the highlighted text:

    I further applied to the European Commission in Brussels for help. The European Commission investigated the whole matter and recommended that I contact/contacted the Ministry of Transport, Department of Civil Aviation, in the first place. After long waiting, I obtained a message stating that I should address directly to your office and ask you to determine the real culprit. If you are able to definitely determine to whom the whole problem is attributable, I will enforce the compensation by legal action. If, however, the encountered difficulties are/were attributable to your company, I would ask for payment of the compensation.

    Thank you very much.
    In the first, use "contact"; it is the present subjunctive (although it looks like simple present tense).

    In the second, you could use either, but I would use the present "are". You are presently attributing the past difficulties to the company.

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