Diary - Today, my English teacher discussed personality with me.

[Maybo]

This is an entry from my diary. Please check it and correct any mistakes.

Today, my English teacher discussed personality with me. She told me that once, she applied for a job which required her to take a personality test before interview. She knows that most companies need outgoing people but she's not one. After the test, she didn't get any response. I don't think these tests are useful because many people can just pretend themselves as an extrovert by choosing extrovert answers.

 

[emsr2d2]

Today, my English teacher discussed personality testing with me. She told me that once, she once applied for a job which and was required her to take a personality test before getting an interview. She knows knew that most companies need look for outgoing people but she's not one like that. After the test, she didn't get any a response. I don't think these tests are useful because many people can just pretend themselves as an that they are extrovert by choosing extrovert the appropriate answers.

 

[tedmc]

Did your teacher discuss the subject of "personality" with you one-on-one?

You pretend to be somebody (an extrovert); you don't pretend yourselves as somebody.

 

[Maybo]

Did your teacher discuss the subject of "personality" with you one-on-one?

You pretend to be somebody (an extrovert); you don't pretend yourselves as somebody.

Yes. She’s my online English teacher.

 

[Maybo]

Why should I use "she knew"? Is it because our conversation is over?

 

[tedmc]

I think that is to be consistent with the use of the past tense to describe what happened in the past. It doesn't mean what is described is no longer true.

 

[Maybo]

I think that to be consistent with the use of the past tense to describe what happened in the past. It doesn't mean what is described is no longer true.

Then, we should also use the past tense for this part for consistency “most companies need look for outgoing people but she's not one like that.” Why don’t we do that?

 

[Tarheel]

@Maybo You are right. That's not past tense. I would also say it's about a situation that hasn't changed and isn't expected to change.

I guess you could say companies used to look for outgoing people for those positions, but would that make sense?

 

[Maybo]

@Maybo You are right. That's not past tense. I would also say it's about a situation that hasn't changed and isn't expected to change.

I guess you could say companies used to look for outgoing people for those positions, but would that make sense?

My teacher was talking about a general situation and those companies are still looking for outgoing people.

 

[Tarheel]

@Maybo Exactly!

 

[Maybo]

@Maybo Exactly!

But it's a fact that she knows about it.

 

[Tarheel]

Of course she knows that. Otherwise she couldn't say what she said. (Now I'm a bit confused.)

 

[Maybo]

Of course she knows that. Otherwise she couldn't say what she said. (Now I'm a bit confused.)

Why don't you say "she knew"? You say "she knows".

 

[Tarheel]

Doesn't she still know that?

 

[Maybo]

Doesn't she still know that?

Yes, she still knows that. You said "she knows". Then, why can't I say "she knows that most companies..."?
Is it because the conversation is over?

 

[emsr2d2]

Why should I use "she knew"? Is it because our conversation is over?

I used "She knew" because you were telling us a story about one specific time when your English teacher applied for a job. I felt it was more natural to keep the whole piece in the past. The exception to that is the part about companies looking for outgoing people. That is a general statement of fact that is still true today.

 

[Maybo]

I used "She knew" because you were telling us a story about one specific time when your English teacher applied for a job. I felt it was more natural to keep the whole piece in the past. The exception to that is the part about companies looking for outgoing people. That is a general statement of fact that is still true today.

Why is this part "she's not one like that" not changed to the past tense? Does it count as a general statement of fact?

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes. The chances are that if she wasn't outgoing at the time, she still isn't outgoing.

 

[Maybo]

Yes. The chances are that if she wasn't outgoing at the time, she still isn't outgoing.

Can I use the past tense for the whole sentence? Is that acceptable? Sometimes, when I read novels, I found they use the past tense for the whole book.

She knew that most companies looked for outgoing people but she was not like that.

 

[Tarheel]

That's fine.