I got this job because I am

[ademoglu]

Hi,

- Do you remember that nice couple we met on holiday? They were German, weren't they?

- I got this job because I was a good driver.

The sentences are from "Practical English Usage" on page 401.

I would like to ask whether we can use "are" (and "aren't" in the tag) in the first one and "am" in the second.

PS The situations are still true.

Thanks.

 

[Tdol]

The second works better with the present than the first to me- I can't see much reason to keep things in the present when knowing the couple is in the past, even if their nationality hasn't changed.

 

[MikeNewYork]

For me, "they were German" is completely illogical. They are still German.

 

[Rover_KE]

You're assuming they're still alive.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Yes.

 

[Rover_KE]

They might have met them 20 years ago when the German couple were in their eighties.

 

[MikeNewYork]

And they might not have. If the speaker believes that they are alive, the present tense is perfectly fine. Endless speculation doesn't change that.

 

[Eckaslike]

I simply understood it to be a common phrase form used when people are trying to remember, or distinguish, which nice couple they had met on holiday.

They were that nice German couple, rather than the nice Italian, or French couple that they also met while they were there.

It looks like from what you are saying Mike, that it isn't used in AmE.

The author may be using a form that in BrE we take for granted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Swan_(writer)

 

[MikeNewYork]

It is a common phrase in AmE also. My point is that the present tense is not wrong, and in many cases, it is more logical.

 

[Barb_D]

I would use "were" for the couple, because meeting them is in the past. Unless you plan to invite them to dinner in the future, your association with them is over. It makes sense to think of them in the past. Whether they are alive or not, since there is no longer any connection your current life, "were" makes sense to me, even if it doesn't to Mike.

I would use "am" for the job, because you still have the job. And even if you were talking about a past job, you presumably are still a driver today.

It is where your mind is (in the present or in the past)that determines the tense use, in my opinion.