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Which sentence is correct? and Why?

  1. She told me last week she hates action movies.
  2. She told me last week she hated action movies.

As "hate" is a sensual verb and it does not finish in the past (you hate a type of movie and it does not change, at least with no mention in the context) I think Number one should be correct. But an English tutor told me the second one is correct as the discussion they are referring to has happened in the past. Which one is correct and why?

aLuViAn
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    Hello. Welcome to English Stack Exchange. In my personal view, your question seems much more fitting in English Learners Stack Exchange than it is here. Therefore, it is my recommendation that the question be asked there instead. – VTH Sep 08 '18 at 08:36
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    Both correct -- the second is standard reported speech and because she still hates action movies you can also say the first. (It's not connected with the verb 'hate'.) You might get more detailed answers on ELL. – S Conroy Sep 08 '18 at 09:47
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    Your "English tutor" doesn't know what he's talking about. Both versions are perfectly valid - and would usually mean exactly the same thing. – FumbleFingers Sep 08 '18 at 12:29

1 Answers1

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Both are correct, assuming she still hates action movies.

Your tutor is trying to teach you a rule from 19th century English.

See Google Ngrams.

In the 19th and early 20th century, only

she told me she hated action movies

would have been acceptable, because backshifting was mandatory in reported speech. In 21st century English, at least the way most native speakers speak it, you can also say

she told me she hates action movies

if the clause (she hates action movies) is still true.

Apparently some ESL teachers haven't gotten the memo that this has changed.

Some time in the distant future, when everybody only uses the present tense for things that are still true, this may confuse people reading 19th century novels.

Peter Shor
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