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I received an email saying that the documents are/were being processed.

Which is correct? Are or were?

herisson
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iamRR
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2 Answers2

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From English Club (slightly modified) :

In reported speech:

He said: "I feel sad." becomes He said that he felt sad.

John said (that) he was hungry. ... John's original words: "I am hungry."

[As is seen, w]e sometimes change the tense of the reported clause by moving it back one tense. For example, present simple goes back one tense to past simple. We call this change "backshift".

When do we use backshift?

We use backshift when it is logical to use backshift. So, for example, if two minutes ago John said "I am hungry" and I am now telling his sister, I might NOT use backshift (because John is still hungry):

John just said that he is hungry.

I received an email saying that the documents are/were being processed.

Are they in all probability still being processed?

Edwin Ashworth
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  • No probably not because I received an email a month back. So can we use 'are' knowing the fact that words are no longer true ? – iamRR Jun 22 '15 at 19:53
  • It's grammatical, but factually incorrect. Backshift. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 22 '15 at 21:45
  • You mean to say that usage of 'are' is grammatical even the words are no longer true. Is that what you saying ? I just wanted to ask if what was said is no longer true then can we use 'are' in the above sentence ? – iamRR Jun 22 '15 at 22:44
  • Grammaticality is not the same as acceptability. 'Correct' needs defining in your question. But if the processing has stopped at the time of reporting, backshifting is required for a factually correct communication. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 22 '15 at 23:50
  • Is it correct to use 'are' if the processing has been done ? – iamRR Jun 23 '15 at 02:38
  • If you think 'Colorless green ideas sleep furiously' is correct (and grammatically it is), yes. If you want to convey meaningful and accurate information, no. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 23 '15 at 07:58
  • I did not get what you intend to mean. Let's assume that this situation happened a month back and I know it for a fact that processing has already been done then under this condition, is the usage of 'are' possible ? – iamRR Jun 23 '15 at 10:49
  • "Two plus two equals five" is not grammatically incorrect. But it's incorrect for another reason. Similarly for 'The documents are being processed.' if the processing was completed 4 weeks ago (but note that what constitutes 'processing' could be argued to include getting the results to you). – Edwin Ashworth Jun 23 '15 at 17:16
  • Thanks for your reply. So if someone uses the present tense in reported speech knowing the fact that the words are no longer true then will that be acceptable or not ? – iamRR Jun 23 '15 at 19:06
  • Suppose John tells me today : "I am hungry." 2 days later I happen to report his word to my friend. I say : "John said that he is hungry." At the time of reporting I know John is no longer but even if I use 'is', will that be in any case correct or wrong ? – iamRR Jun 23 '15 at 19:23
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"Were" is correct. When a sentence is in the past, everything has to be said to be in the past as well, even if technically that thing is still on-going right now.

user124384
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  • I'm confused. If the documents continue to be processed at the time of writing of the email why would it not be in the present tense and why would that not apply to a story or a news article or every piece of writing ever that used the present tense? – Avon Jun 22 '15 at 19:20
  • This (the second sentence) is incorrect; 'rules' learnt at school are often merely 'rules of thumb' giving the way English works 60 - 98% of the time. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 22 '15 at 19:24
  • If your sentence is in present, then this isn't an issue. Look, language isn't necessarily logical. It just sounds wrong to shift to present tense when you were talking about something that happened in the past. Whether that thing is still on-going or not is usually implied by context. – user124384 Jun 22 '15 at 19:25
  • Then I think you misunderstood the question. The past tense was the OP referring to the email. The email used the present tense (quotes in the question would have helped there). – Avon Jun 22 '15 at 19:26
  • Thanks everyone for your participation. I believe if what is said is still true at the time of reporting, then back shifting is optional. I just wanted to ask if what was said is no longer true then can we use 'are' in the above sentence ? – iamRR Jun 22 '15 at 19:35
  • @Avon -- Will it be correct to use 'are' if the processing has been done ? – iamRR Jun 23 '15 at 02:39
  • @iamRR At the time of writing the email? Of course not. It would be a lie. – Avon Jun 23 '15 at 08:21
  • @EdwinAshworth -- What is 'second sentence' which you are referring ? – iamRR Jun 23 '15 at 10:53
  • @iamRR There are only two sentences in this answer. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 23 '15 at 17:18
  • @EdwinAshworth -- You say that 'second sentence' is incorrect. So which second sentence you ate talking about ? – iamRR Jun 23 '15 at 18:51
  • @iamRR I assume you realise that 'comments' here address the 'answer' they're appended to by default. This answer contains two sentences. Are you going to ask which one is the second again? – Edwin Ashworth Jun 23 '15 at 21:20