Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Navid]

Hello Teachers,

"Did you remember you told me if I needed any help I could come to you?"

I got a problem with the sentence. I want to know that why the speaker use the past time when he's talking to his freind at the moment?

You may know I heard that sentence in the Eraser Film. (Disc 2 - 13:10).

Thanks in advance teachers, you have helped me alot.
Navid

[bud]

Hi Navid,

Do you know that you often ask very difficult questions? Your students are very lucky to have you as their teacher.

Your sentence has several verbs in the past tense. I'm assuming that you mean why is it "Did you..." instead of "Do you..."

Well, it is much more likely that "Do you..." would be used. "Did you..." would be used in a situation referring to the past. Ex: "I needed help yesterday. I left a desperate message on your answering machine, but you never called me back. Did you remember..." (But even in this case, "do" is probably more likely.)

Assuming that the quote is asking if, right now, do you still remember your promise - I don't know whether or not the use of "did" is incorrect, but it is certainly unlikely. Regardless, it is still easily understood. And if it is an error, we native-speakers don't always use English correctly either.

I don't know if that helps, but I hope so.

[Navid]

Hello bud,
To date, You have helped me a lot.

As a result, native English speakers prefer to use it anyhow. OK?

what about is grammar? is it correct to use the past tense for example in an exam?

THANKS IN ADVANCE.
Navid

[lotus]

Hi Navid,

"Did you remember you told me if I needed any help I could come to you?"

The more proper way to say the sentence is "Did you remember when you told me that if I needed any help I could come to you?".

The speaker is reminding his friend (in a rhetorical question) that in the past, he had offered to help him if and when he needed it. That's why the sentence is in the past tense. The speaker is probably going to ask for help next.

Turn the sentence around (in the form of a statement instead of a question) and you can see why putting it in the past tense makes sense.

"You did remember that you told me that if I needed any help, I could come to you".

Because it is a rhetorical question (the speaker expects the answer to be yes), the speaker is saying to his friend that his friend did remember his promise.

In fact, the shorten version of the original sentence could be "Did you remember your promise?"


- lotus

[bud]

I have to disagree with that, Lotus. Navid was correct in wondering why it was not "Do you..." That the promise was made in the past is handled by "you told me." The remembering (or lack of) is in the present. Think about it. Would you ask a friend "Did you remember that movie we saw last year about the war in Kosovo?" or would you say "Do you...?" I think you would say it the second way because you are asking about right now.

When a friend meets you to go see a concert, you might ask "Did you remember the tickets?" Here the past tense is correct because you are asking about the past - did he/she remember to bring them 20 minutes ago when he/she left home to come meet you.

Navid - Are you asking if it is correct to use the original sentence on an exam? If so, then in my opinion it would not be correct for the reason I stated. Native speakers make mistakes, and in the dialog of a movie or book, the writer might intentionally make mistakes to make it more realistic... Of course, there might be a context in the movie that makes the sentence correct in that particular context. Lacking a context, though, the sentence should be in the present.

[lotus]

Hi Bud,

I believe your interpretation is correct. "Do you..." is more correct than "Did you..."


Thanks,

- lotus