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44
predicative and appositive ones).
The rules are as follows:
1)
a present (or future) tense in the principal clause may be followed by any tense in the subordinate
object clause:
he plays tennis well.
he is playing tennis in the park.
he has played two games today.
he has been playing tennis since morning.
he played tennis yesterday.
he was playing tennis when the storm began.
he had played two games before the storm began.
he had been playing tennis for some time when the storm began.
1.
I know
I say
I am just saying
I have always known
I’ve just been telling her
I shall tell her
(that)
he will play tennis in summer.
he will be playing tennis all day long.
he will have played some games before you return.
he will have been playing tennis for some time before you come.
2) a past tense in the principal clause is followed by a past tense in the subordinate object clause.
I knew
I said
I was just saying
I had never known
She had been telling
(that)
he played tennis well.
he was playing tennis in the park.
he had played two games that day.
he had been playing tennis since morning.
he had played tennis the day before.
he had been playing when the storm began.
he had played two games before the storm.
he had been playing tennis for some time before the storm.
he would play tennis in summer.
he would be playing tennis all day long.
he would have played some games by the time you returned.
he would have been playing tennis for more than an hour before you
came.
Thus the past indefinite or the past continuous tense in the subordinate clause denotes an action,
simultaneous with that of the pripcipal clause. They are translated into Russian by the present tense.
For a moment she did not know where she was.
Joanna noticed suddenly that I was not listening.
Had she not hinted what was troubling her?
He had thought it was his own son.
People had been saying he was a madman.
My first thought was where they were now.
The past perfect or the past perfect continuous in the subordinate clause denotes an action prior to that of the
principal clause. Both of these forms are translated into Russian by the past tense.
I perceived that something had happened.
I wasn’t going to tell her that Megan had rung me up.
I knew well enough what she had been doing.
Up to that moment I had not realized what they had been trying to prove.