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45
The fact was that his sister Rose had married beneath her.
She had a feeling that she had been deceived.
The future in the past tenses in the subordinate clause denote an action following that of the principal clause.
I hoped she would soon be better.
I told Caroline that I should be dining at Fernley.
What she would say or do did not bother him.
The fact remained that none of us would see them till late at night.
The sudden thought that Nell would not come at all flashed through his head.
The fact that the action of the subordinate clause follows that of the action in the principal clause may be
also indicated by other means.
She said she was going to see him the same night.
§ 61. The rules of the sequence of tenses concern subordinate clauses dependent not only on the predicate of
the principal clause but also on any part expressed by a verb or verbal:
I received from her a letter saying that she was passing through Paris and would like to have a chat with
me.
She smiled again, sure that I should come up.
She turned her head slightly, well aware that he was watching her.
In complex sentences containing more than two subordinate clauses the choice of the tense form for each of
them depends on the tense form of the clause to which it is subordinated:
I guess you told him where they had come from and why they were hiding.
As far as I can see he did not realize that very soon all would be over.
Besides the complex sentences described above the rules of the sequence of tenses are also found in all types
of clauses and simple sentences reproducing inner speech (conventional direct speech).
§ 62. As already stated the rules of the sequence of tenses concern object, subject and predicative clauses. In
all the other clauses (attributive and adverbial ones) the use of tenses depends wholly on the sense to be
conveyed:
Clyde thought of all the young and thoughtless company of which he had been a part.
He lifted the heavy latch which held the large iron gate in place.
She only liked men who are good-looking.
I was thinking of the day which will come only too soon.
He was standing where the creek turns sharply to the east.
At the moment he was standing where he always had stood, on the rug before the living-room fire.
She felt gay as he had promised to take her to the pictures.
You see, I could not follow them as I’m rather shy.
Mr. Direck’s broken wrist healed sooner than he desired.
He knew the job better than I do.
She had been a wife for even less time than you have.
In my youth life was not the same as it is now.
§ 63. The rules of the sequence of tenses are not observed in the following cases:
1) when the subordinate clause describes the so-called general truth, or something which the speaker
thinks to be one.