'He said he can't face doing it by himself.' Why is 'can't' instead of 'couldn't' used here?
Please help me with the difference between 'can' and 'could', thanks a lot !!
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Answers · 6
2
this is a case of narration. And yes, the sentence is written wrongly. It should have been either
He said ¨I can't face doing it by himself¨. (that is, quoting his words directly)
or
He said (that) he couldn't face doing it by himself. (reporting).
1
if he is talking about present tense then we should use "cant" and if he is talking about past tense then we should use "couldnt"
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