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  • He mentioned that he ........ problems at home, but he didn't explain. However, reading between the lines, I guess his relationship with his wife is not as nice as it used to be.

a. has (while he has the problem yest.)
b. had (while verbs used in a sentence should all be the same tense.)

I was wondering what is the correct choice here.

Logically, "a" and grammatically "b" seems to be alright here. Nevertheless, I have my doubts yet.

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The second sentence shows that two tenses are already being used: the conversation was in the past, but “his relationship… is” in the present. So “He mentioned that he had” is valid; it keeps the conversation in the past tense. And “He mentioned that he has” could also be valid; it emphasizes the fact that the same problems he had (then) are still ongoing (now). Without the second sentence, this would be a less obvious choice, and potentially confusing to read.

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