Question
Updated on
30 Nov 2022
- Korean
-
English (US)
Question about English (US)
Are these two sentences both grammatically correct and natural?
- "He told me his brother works for an Italian restaurant."
- "He told me he likes the movie."
Are these two sentences both grammatically correct and natural?
- "He told me his brother works for an Italian restaurant."
- "He told me he likes the movie."
- "He told me his brother works for an Italian restaurant."
- "He told me he likes the movie."
Answers
Read more comments
- English (US)
The first sentence is natural!
The second sentence sounds pretty natural but can change based on context:
'Told' is the past tense of 'tell'
since you used the word 'told' you can change 'likes' from present tense to 'liked' past tense (since he is done watching the movie).
"He told me he liked the movie".
This way the tenses are consistent.
Highly-rated answerer
- Korean
Thank you
But why does only #2 have to be changed when #1 and #2 have the same structure?
But why does only #2 have to be changed when #1 and #2 have the same structure?
- English (US)
@hhoc2000 It's optional, but since he finishes watching a movie in 2 hrs~ you can put "like" in the past tense. He watched the movie already and liked it. #1 doesn't have to be changed because he still currently works at the restaurant! If his brother used to work there but got fired or quit, then you can say "He told me his brother worked for an Italian restaurant". because he doesn't work there anymore.
Highly-rated answerer

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