Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Marlen]

Hello,

Could you tell me whether run is present or simple past.

Mr Collins had written a letter and he warned his cousin Elisabeth of the risks that she runs in accepting Mr Darcy's proposal.

or is it : she ran?

Thanks a lot in advance.
Marlen

[Mister Micawber]

.
Runs if the condition still holds for the present moment; ran if the writer wishes to regress the verb as reported speech. That is, either is OK if Elisabeth is still running a risk at this point in the narrative text.
.
_________________
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
...............
Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's