Past tense and present tense together?
Good day.

In both these sentences:
I) "Before I seduced you properly, you can't die".
II)"It's time we danced with the truth".
Why were the verbs used in the past, such as "danced" and "seduced", and not in their present tense form?
"Before I seduce you properly, you can't die"?

Also, does this structure receive a name? Could you give me some more examples of it?

I thank you all.

Question

Past tense and present tense together?
Good day.

In both these sentences:
I) "Before I seduced you properly, you can't die".
II)"It's time we danced with the truth".
Why were the verbs used in the past, such as "danced" and "seduced", and not in their present tense form?
"Before I seduce you properly, you can't die"?

Also, does this structure receive a name? Could you give me some more examples of it?

I thank you all.

Answer

This is a good question.
The first one should be ""Before I *have* seduced you properly, you can't die"?
But you could also write it in the present tense "Before I seduce you properly, you can't die"
Or, a smoother way: "You can't die before I seduce you properly."
The 2nd example:
"It's time we danced with the truth" can also be in the present "It's time we dance with the truth."
You can also add the word "that",
for example:
"It's time that we dance with the truth."

I think the reason for the past tense structure is that it assumes that after a condition is met, then something else can happen.
For example, "After you have tried my pizza, then you can die."
The trying of the pizza will already be in the past.

You may want a deeper explanation of this, though.

Answers · 1

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!