I meant ....
I would like to know if we necessarily have to use the past form after "meant" or not. for example, Which one is right?
A: "Nothing is finished in the competition yet. I meant, we can win."
B: "Nothing is finished in the competition yet. I meant, we could win."

Thanks in advance.

Question

I meant ....
I would like to know if we necessarily have to use the past form after "meant" or not. for example, Which one is right?
A: "Nothing is finished in the competition yet. I meant, we can win."
B: "Nothing is finished in the competition yet. I meant, we could win."

Thanks in advance.

Answer

I don't like the use of "meant" in either of these sentences whether it is followed by present or past tense.  If this is a direct statement to someone, it sounds much better to my educated ear to use "mean".  However, after "mean", both "can" and "could" would be acceptable due to the fact that "could" is being used subjunctively; expressing a hypothetical possibility of winning.

Answers · 2

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