Below is a question from a book.
- Joe goes out. Five minutes later, the phone rings and the caller says, "Can I speak to Joe?" You say: _____________________________ (go out).
My question is. Why are the sentences written with simple present? Shouldn't it be:
Joe went out. Five minutes later, the phone rang and the caller said, "Can I speak to Joe". You said: ___________.
Is the question trying tell me about events that happened in the past?
Is the question trying to tell me about events that are hypothetical?
My understanding is that you use simple present for things that are present or generally true.
If the question is about a hypothetical situation then shouldn't it be like this:
If Joe goes out, five minutes later, the phone rings then the callers says, 'Can I speak to Joe?' You say: ______ .
You need "if" for hypothetical, right?
edit: I know what the answer is. The answer is He has just gone out . I'm not trying to figure out what the answer to the fill in the bank question. I'm trying to understand why the question was asked that way. As far as I know, hypothetical situations start with if . I'm trying to understand why that made-up question did not use if.