Sequence of tenses


Sequence of tenses is a set of grammatical rules of a particular language, governing the agreement between the tenses of verbs in related clauses or sentences.
A typical context in which rules of sequence of tenses apply is that of indirect speech. If, at some past time, someone spoke a sentence in a particular tense, and that act of speaking is now being reported, the tense used in the clause that corresponds to the words spoken may or may not be the same as the tense that was used by the original speaker. In some languages the tense tends to be "shifted back", so that what was originally spoken in the present tense is reported using the past tense. English is one of the languages in which this often occurs. For example, if someone said "I need a drink", this may be reported in the form "She said she needed a drink", with the tense of the verb need changed from present to past.
The "shifting back" of tense as described in the previous paragraph may be called backshifting or an attracted sequence of tenses. In languages and contexts where such a shift does not occur, there may be said by contrast to be a natural sequence.

English

In English, an attracted sequence of tenses is often used in indirect speech and similar contexts. The attracted sequence can be summarized as follows: If the main verb of a sentence is in the past tense, then other verbs must also express a past viewpoint, except when a general truth is being expressed.
For example, if Batman spoke the following words:
the speech act may be reported using the following words:
with the present tense need replaced by the past tense needed, since the main verb of saying is in the past tense. Further examples can be found at.
In some cases, though, a natural sequence of tenses is more appropriate. Here the tense of a verb in a subordinate clause is not determined by the tense of the verb in the superordinate clause, but is determined simply according to the sense of the clause taken apart from the rest of the sentence. The rule for writers following the natural sequence of tenses can be expressed as follows: imagine yourself at the point in time denoted by the main verb, and use the tense for the subordinate verb that you would have used at that time. Thus the tense used in the indirect speech remains the same as it was in the words as originally spoken. This is normal when the main verb is in the present or future tense. For example:
However it is also possible to use the natural sequence even if the main verb is past or conditional:
This option is more likely to be used when the circumstance being expressed remains equally true now as it did when the speech act took place, and especially if the person reporting the words agrees that they are true or valid.
Debate amongst grammarians over the appropriateness of the two types of sequence of tenses goes back as far as the 18th century. Use of the attracted sequence sometimes leads to additional problems when the grammatical construction of indirect speech includes an incorporated quotation – that is, when an attempt is made to report the words actually spoken. For example, if a minister spoke the words "Such a policy is not without its drawbacks", then a writer may attempt to report this as follows:
using quotation marks to denote that that portion of the sentence represents the minister's actual words. This, however, requires use of the natural sequence of tenses, which might not be felt appropriate in the given situation. There are various possible solutions to this problem:
Similar problems arise from the other changes that typically occur in indirect speech, such as changes of pronoun, etc.
For more details, see the article on indirect speech, and also the article on uses of English verb forms, particularly the sections on indirect speech and dependent clauses.

Russian

Indirect speech in Russian and other Slavic languages generally uses the natural sequence of tenses. For examples, see.

Latin

In Latin, the sequence of tenses rule affects dependent verbs in the subjunctive mood, mainly in indirect questions, indirect commands, and purpose clauses. If the main verb is in one of the non-past tenses, the subordinate verb is usually in the present or perfect subjunctive ; if the main verb is in one of the past tenses, the subordinate verb is usually in the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive. For example, when the subordinate verb refers to a time contemporaneous or later than the time of the main verb, the present or imperfect subjunctive is used:
When the subordinate verb refers to a time earlier than that of the main verb, the perfect or pluperfect subjunctive is used:
If the main verb is a historic present, either primary or historic sequence may be used, or in a long sentence even a mixture of the two:
If the main verb is a perfect tense, it is usually followed by the historic sequence, but if the meaning is equivalent to an English present perfect, it may be followed by primary sequence:
There are frequent exceptions to the sequence of tenses rule. For example, verbs in conditional clauses do not usually follow the rule:
Consecutive clauses also do not always follow the rule:
Unlike English, when the sentence is an indirect statement, the sequence of tenses rule does not apply in Latin, and the tense of the infinitive remains unchanged, no matter what the tense of the main verb. The present infinitive is used for a situation contemporaneous with the main verb:
The perfect infinitive is used for an event or situation earlier than the time of the main verb:

Greek

In Classical Greek, the tenses in subordinate clauses must correspond to those in the superordinate clauses governing them.
A principal tense in the superordinate clause is followed by a principal tense in the indicative mood or subjunctive mood. Such a principal tense is followed by:
A historical tense in the superordinate clause is followed by a historical tense in the indicative mood or optative mood. Such a historic tense is followed by:
In fact, since Greek tenses express the aspect of the verb, not the time, we don't have the "Consecutio Temporum", but the "Consecutio Modorum", the sequence of the Moods.

Italian

The set of rules comprising the sequence of tenses in the Italian language corresponds in general to the "consecutio temporum" of the Latin grammar.
To determine the form of the verb in the subordinate clause it is necessary to know:
  1. if the verb in the main clause is in the indicative or subjunctive mood,
  2. if the verb in the main clause is in the present or past tense, and
  3. if the verb in the subordinate clause expresses an action which unfolds before, at the same time, or after the action indicated in the main clause.
The various combinations are summarized in four tables.

Sequence of tenses of the indicative

The verb of the main clause is in the present tense

The verb of the main clause is a past tense

If the verb of the main clause is in the past, the verbal forms of the subordinate clause refer to the moment indicated in the main clause and adapt accordingly. The present in the subordinate clase will transform to imperfect, the past will become past perfect, etc.:
Main clauseSubordinate clauseTemporal relationship
Luisa sapeva che ero andato a Roma anteriority
Luisa sapeva che andavo a Roma contemporaneity
Luisa sapeva che sarei andato a Roma posteriorty

Sequence of tenses of the subjunctive

Despite of the use of the subjunctive, the verbal tenses follow rules similar to the ones of the Indicative mood. The Present Indicative of the subordinate clause will be substituted with the subjunctive present; similarly, the present perfect will be substituted with its correspondent form, that of the past subjunctive and the Past perfect tense with the subjunctive past perfect.

The verb of the main clause is in the present tense

The verb of the main clause is a past tense

If the verb of the main clause is in the past tense, the verbal forms of the subordinate will be adapted to that of the main clause:
Main clauseSubordinate clauseTemporal relationship
Luisa pensava che fossi andato a Roma anteriority
Luisa pensava che andassi a Roma contemporaneity
Luisa pensava che sarei andato a Roma posteriority