English Language & Usage Asked on February 19, 2021
Is the following sentence grammatical? :
Jack splits a blade of grass. He won’t speak up. Never does. Tom will. Always does.
For some reason it sounds weird. I was wondering shouldn’t it have been “never did” instead of “never does”?
What’s the difference between the sentence above and this below? :
Jack splits a blade of grass. He won’t speak up. Never did. Tom will. Always did.
"Never does" and "Always does" in this context indicate that these are ongoing habits or traits that you have seen, continue to see, and presumably expect to continue into the future.
The past tense of "Never did"/"Always did" says that they were happening in the past, but does not necessarily mean that you expect them to continue. It may be that the person is deceased, or that you no longer know them, or that you are just not saying.
Correct answer by JeffSahol on February 19, 2021
The key here is the future tense. "He won't speak up. Never does." means: we can be sure that he will not speak up because that is his custom. The present tense here covers all the timeline: he has never spoken up and he will maintain this behaviour.
If we use the past tense, on the other hand, we lose this continuity and the sentence sounds awkward.
Answered by Gorpik on February 19, 2021
It seems like you are narrating this incident to someone.
In that case, you are free to choose between "never did" and "never does".
Answered by user20934 on February 19, 2021
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