"Did he say goodbye before he left?" OR "Does he say goodbye before he left?"

Question

Which one is correct in this case:

Did he say goodbye before he left?

OR

Does he say goodbye before he left?

I think "Did he say goodbye before he left?" is correct but I'm not sure.

Answer 1

"Does he say goodbye before he left" is wrong as it contains a mixture of tenses, but the meaning in context tag may be significant - the correct version will depend when the question is asked in relation to when "he" left. For example :

"John just left." (past)

"Did he say goodbye before he left?"

"John is leaving soon." (future)

"Does he say goodbye before he leaves?"

"Will he say goodbye before he leaves?" would also be correct and arguably better, but the implication would be for this occasion only.

"Does he say goodbye before he leaves?" suggests that John has a policy of always saying goodbye before leaving.