[General] Mobile phone

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Tina3

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1Yesterday he told me he bought a new mobile phone.

2Yesterday he told me he had bought a new mobile phone.

Which is the correct one?
I am writing today about it. I met him yesterday.
 

Rover_KE

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They are both correct.
 

EnglishFix

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Raymott

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1Yesterday he told me he bought a new mobile phone.

2Yesterday he told me he had bought a new mobile phone.

Which is the correct one?
I am writing today about it. I met him yesterday.
2. might be right, but there's nothing in the context to show why you'd need the past perfect tense. Why would you want to use it here?
 

emsr2d2

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I would use 2. The buying of the phone took place before the conversation yesterday, which took place before the retelling of the story today.

I think this is another AmE/BrE difference. In BrE, we would always say, for example "I told you I had done that!" but I have a feeling that in AmE, "I told you I did that!" would be perfectly acceptable.

He told me he had bought a car.
I met my friend just now and she told me she had booked a holiday.
 
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