I asked you who you are/were..

[subhajit123]

Hi everyone, I have a question. Suppose a police officer is investigating a crime and asking suspects regarding the crime. He asks a person who is going somewhere "who are you?" But the person doesn't answer. Then he stops the person and says "are you deaf? I asked who you are/were.

'Is' or 'are': which one should be used in the context?

And one more thing, If I there are grammatical errors in the question I have asked, correct it too, please. I will learn from it.

 

[Raymott]

'Were' should be used. Or, if you really have an aversion to backshifting, you can use 'are'.

 

[subhajit123]

'Were' should be used. Or, if you really have an aversion to backshifting, you can use 'are'.

Hi Raymott, are there any grammatical errors in the way I have asked the question? If there are, Can you please restructure the question? I think this is not the way a native speaker would describe the scenario I have described in the question. please correct it too if there are. I'll try to learn from it.

 

[Raymott]

Correction:
"Suppose a police officer is investigating a crime and asking suspects [STRIKE]regarding[/STRIKE] about the crime. He asks a person who is going somewhere "Who are you?" But the person doesn't answer. Then he stops the person and says "Are you deaf? I asked who you are/were."

Should I use 'are' or 'were' in this context?
And one more thing - if [STRIKE]I[/STRIKE] there are any grammatical errors in the question I have asked, correct them too, please. I will learn from them.

PS: You don't have to use a dash, but you can't follow a comma with a new sentence.