krishkansish  +  93618 Tue, 26 Apr 05 01:57 PM What is the exact difference between the two sentences: I thought he is late. I thought he was late. Thanks. krishkansish Joined on Fri, Feb 11 2005 New Member 07 Difference Between

	caduca  +  93623 Tue, 26 Apr 05 02:07 PM "I thought he is late" isn't correct grammar anyway. "I think he is late" would be right, and it would be present tense. "I thought he was late" is past tense caduca Joined on Mon, Jan 24 2005 UK New Member 12 Grammar, Tenses, Present Tenses, Past Tenses

	abbie1948  +  93626 Tue, 26 Apr 05 02:13 PM "is" is the 3rd person singular present tense of "to be" "was" is 3rd person simple past of "to be" Reading your sentences, I would put this interpretation on them: I thought he is late. I think this need some speech marks (") Perhaps you are telling someone about something that happened in the past (you are using " thought", simple past of "think"). You had arranged to meet someone, and he didn't arrive at the specified time. You tell your friend later what you thought. I thought, "he is late". I thought he was late. Again, you are speaking about the past, but instead of using direct speech ("he is late") you are using indirect speech to say what you thought at the time. abbie1948 Joined on Thu, Mar 24 2005 England Senior Member 2,657 Hope that helps. Abbie Tenses, Present Tenses, Simple Past, Direct Speech, Indirect Speech