Tense problem

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Stenka25

#427489 Fri, 05 Oct 07 05:17 PM

I have a sentence like the following :

Yesterday, your son sounded like he's always sounded.

In this sentence "he's always sounded" seems like "he has always sounded."

But, to me, it should be "he had always sounded" because the tense of the main clause is past (sounded).

Am I right?

Stenka25

Joined on Thu, Jul 13 2006

Seoul, South Korea

Full Member (196)

Tenses, Clauses

Yankee

#427493 Fri, 05 Oct 07 05:33 PM

Hi Stenka

I see no reasonable need for the past perfect at all. In fact, you could easily write the end of that sentence with the simple present tense:

Yesterday, your son sounded like he always sounds.
.

Yankee

Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006

Connecticut, USA

Senior Member (4,321)

Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain

Simple Present, Tenses, Present Tenses, Past Perfect

CalifJim

#427534 Fri, 05 Oct 07 07:09 PM

to me, it should be "he had always sounded" because the tense of the main clause is past (sounded)

It does seem that way, but the conventions of tense sequence are broken when comparing one time period to another. Here you're comparing "yesterday" to "always", using the comparative term "like".

Compare:

He is not as polite as he was years ago. (Present compared to past.)

CJ