Dispute regarding tense

Question

My friend's birthday is next month. I have already decided that I won't be getting him a present. I said to my wife, "I would have gotten him a present, but he never acknowledges it". She said that was improper because I spoke in the past tense of an event which hasn't yet happened. I say that I was speaking in the past tense about my decision to not get him anything, so it was proper. Once I made the decision not to get him anything, I was allowed to say " I would have gotten him something if....". Since I have already decided that I won't be getting him something, that decision is in the past and I may speak of it as such. What do you say? Thanks

Answer 1

Hi Joe! You know how I would have fixed this issue? I would have focused more on the actual verb rather than its modal or auxiliary verbs and leave the action still open to be completed, if only the speaker felt it were a worthwhile venture that would not compromise his dignity. So, I would have stated,

"I would get the guy a present. But he never even thanks me for the nicer gifts I give him."

(now this is a conversation, where one can get a little more loose and inventive with the punctjuation-- or I wouldn't have used "but" to begin that sentence. I would have linked in to the previous one with a comma, as it is a coordinating conjunction!

Thanks! It's great to be on here working with students again!

Rhonda Cawthorn (desperately seeking student-clients!)

or even better, perhaps, instead of the kind of colloquial/slangy sounding "get," you could use "buy" "purchase" . ;. .

Answer 2

I agree with you. Your decision was in the past, so it's proper to put it in past tense. The fact that he never acknowledges gifts is an ongoing issue, so it belongs in the present. You could also say that you won't get him a present, which would indicate future action (or lack thereof), but that's a choice.

Answer 3

In this dispute, you are correct. You can refer to getting the present as a past event because you have already went through the process of choosing not to get a present, even if the birthday hasn’t passed yet.