You can, but native speakers normally use simple present in the subordinate clause: I'll do what I'm asked to do.

"I never knew that you have such a callous heart." knew and thought in the main clause are almost never followed by a subordinate clause in the present tense. You'll rarely go wrong by backshifting, regardless of the verb in the

The rule is as you state it: if the condition still appertains now, then the present tense is also possible. I say 'also' because the natural tendency of the native speaker is to regress the verb of the independent clause. That is why it sounds

Hello, I've recently developed a habit of wondering (often to the point of frustration) how and when best to combine the simple past and simple present tenses in a logical manner. I've looked at a number of guidelines establishing when to

When I go ... I feel .... You need the simple present. The third one is the correct one. When you are trying to connect two events to show that one always happens when the other one happens, you generally need the simple present in both clauses.

Hi. In a section called "Advanced Points in Reported Speech" in the LoreGate.com Learn English Easily site, these two things (exceptions) are what are written under the heading of "exceptions," in addition to one other

Hmmm, until very recently I never imagined that a non-finite clause was possible, and it's still something of a puzzlement. A regular (finite) clause has a subject and a verb; a non-finite clause has a subject and a verbal. So the distinction

What's wrong with these sentences? 1. Adjective clauses "My friend who lives over there is sick" can be reduced to "My friend living over there is sick" But why can't I reduce this "I have a friend who

. These seem like reasonable places to use past perfect. If the order of past actions is clear, the dependent clause (just as with coordinate clauses) needn't be in past perfect, and native speakers tend to prefer the simple past to the past

Complete this article about health advice for travelers. Combine the two sentences to make a real conditional sentence. Keep the same order and decide which clause begins with if. Make necessary changes in capitalization and punctuation. Here is