1

Earlier this morning, I opened the list on my computer to check:

A.    ...if there was anyone I knew who had made the list.

B.    ...if there was anyone I know who had made the list.

C.    ...if there was anyone I know who made the list.

Are all these sentences grammatically correct?

And in all these sentence, it's the present that we're talking about here. Like, the exact present day.

And the part "if there was anyone I knew", in the first sentence is bugging me, for the people I knew earlier this morning, I still know them.

Improve this question
3
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – ColleenV Dec 8 '18 at 11:08
  • Hi, native speaker here. Can't guarantee this is technically correct but, in an informal setting, I would personally say "Earlier this morning, I opened the list on my computer to check if there was anyone I knew who made the list." – Thomas Winckelman Dec 19 '20 at 22:55
  • Or, subjectively even better (because it's simpler): "Earlier this morning, I opened the list on my computer to check if anyone I knew made it." – Thomas Winckelman Dec 19 '20 at 22:56
0

@TIPS >if there was anyone I know who had made the list.

Sorry, my reputation is low, so I can not add comments.

The problem with the above is using the past (there was) & the present (I know) tenses in the same sentence. This is not grammatically correct in formal English. But, as I said, in normal every day usage - nobody cares about such things.

Hope this helps.

Improve this answer
1
  • You can definitely have past and present tenses in the same sentence. Probably not that sentence, but this is much too general a rule. – Peter Shor Jul 13 '16 at 15:50

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.