What is the language in Rio? Do you know what language they speak in Brazil? Historical preconditions for the formation of multilingualism in Brazil

Tense agreement is one of the most important topics in the English language. In order to construct your narrative correctly and beautifully, you need to be able to use tenses correctly. This article will help you understand these subtleties of English grammar.

What is tense coordination?

The sequence of tenses, or in other words, agreement (sequence of tenses) is the dependence of the form of the predicate verb in the subordinate clause on the tense of the verb in the main clause.

In oral or written speech, it is often necessary to limit oneself to various temporary events to describe the events that occurred. Changing the form of verbs just helps the reader or listener to give a clear idea of the sequence of all actions in the story. To avoid confusion, the author must use all time transitions competently and clearly.

The principle of coordinating times applies when two important conditions are met:

The selected sentence has a complex structure (consists of a main and dependent clause).
The predicate verb in the main clause is in the past tense.

If these conditions are present, the verb in the subordinate clause must also take the past tense form. But which of the past tenses? After all, there are many forms of it in English. To choose the desired type of past tense, you need to combine the action of the verb in the subordinate clause with the action of the verb in the main one.

Coordination of past tense and present

If the action of a verb in the present tense expresses the simultaneity of the actions of the predicate of the main clause, then the verb in the subordinate clause takes the form or.

The choice of the past tense will depend on what the action itself was: an action-fact requires the Past Simple, and a long-term action in development requires the Past Continuous.

He said he worked(was working) in America. - He said that works in America.

The word "works" refers to the present tense, that is, to the moment when he spoke. The tenses are consistent in that a verb in the present tense is expressed through the Past Simple / Past Continuous.

Mary explained us they were trying to light a fire. – Mary explained to us that they were trying to light a fire (action in progress).

Agreement between past tense and past tense

In cases where the verb in the subordinate clause is in the past tense and precedes the action of the predicate of the main clause, the verb of the main clause takes the form Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous.

He said he had worked in America. - He said that have worked in America.

The word "worked" is used in the past tense, preceding the moment when he spoke. “Worked” expresses precedence of the action of the main word (said) and is constructed using the Past Perfect (had worked).

Not said he had been working in America for 20 years. – He said that he worked in America for ten years (preceding the action in the trial).

I told my sister I had cut my hair “I told my sister that I cut my hair.

Coordination of past tense and future

When the predicate in a subordinate clause is in the future tense, then Future in the Past is used.

He said he would work in America. – He said that he would work in America.

“Will work” refers to the future tense form of the main clause predicate (said).

He said he would try to help us to decorate the office. “He said he would try to help us decorate the office.”

Agreement between past tense and modal verbs

They agree with the tenses as follows:

Must in the subordinate clause does not change, but in the meaning of necessity the expression is used haveto (hadto for past tense).

He said I must do homework every day. He said that I should do my homework every day.

He said I had to see the dentist. – He said that I should go to the dentist.

Can obeys the rule of tense agreement and has the form of the past tense ( could).

I knew he could speak Spanish well. “I knew he could speak Spanish well.”

I didn't know he could play hockey “I didn’t know he could play hockey.”

General time coordination table

Start time	English version	Russian translation
Present Simple	Past Simple	Present
	I knew he played the guitar every day.	I knew that he plays on the guitar every day.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous	Present
	I knew he was playing the guitar and I didn't want to interrupt him.	I knew that he plays on the guitar and didn’t want to interrupt him.
Present Perfect	Past Perfect	Past
	I knew he had played the guitar at that party.	I knew he played guitar at that party.
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	Present
	I knew he had been playing the guitar for an hour already.	I knew that he had been playing the guitar for an hour.
Future	Future in the Past	Future
	I knew he would play the guitar at an upcoming party.	I knew he would be playing guitar at the upcoming party.

Exceptions

Despite the above cases of time coordination, in some situations they are not required at all. There are several such points, but they are important to remember in order to avoid confusing Sequence of Tenses with exceptions:

Well-known truths. When we are talking about established concepts or situations that no one will challenge. Often these are laws of nature and phenomena:

He didn’t try to persuade her that the Earth is round. “He didn’t try to convince her that the Earth was round.”

News reports and reviews. Coordination is not required in political reviews and texts written in a business style:

The vice-president mentioned that the level of economy is rising. – The Vice President mentioned that the economic level is increasing.

Repetitive actions. What happens on a regular basis:

John asked his colleague what time the bus usually arrives. John asked his colleague what time the bus usually arrives.

Some modal verbs.Shouldneed And oughtto will not agree because they do not have the past tense form:

Mother said that I should return by 3 p.m. “Mom said I should be back by three.”

In cases where exact time is specified. When there is a clear reference to time in a sentence, the Sequence of Tenses is not required:

She said to her friend that she was born in 1980. - She told her friend that she was born in 1980.

It is important to know

Not only times are subject to change, but also the circumstances of place and time:

demonstrative pronouns this/that, indicating the distance of objects, turn into these/those;
here And over change to over here And over there;
words yesterday And tomorrow become the day before And next day;
will changes to would.

That's basically it. Pretty simple, right?

If you have any questions, ask them in the comments.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Lesson 9

There is no such phenomenon in Russian grammar. The tense agreement rule states that if the predicate of the main clause is in the past tense, then the predicate of the subordinate clause will always be in one of the past tenses.

From the above it follows that, firstly, the rule for coordinating tenses is observed only in subordinate clauses, and secondly, if the predicate of the main sentence is in the present or future tense, then the rule for coordinating tenses does not apply, and the predicate of the subordinate clause is used in any time required by meaning:

I think (that [the conjunction that may not be used.]) he is right. – I think (that) he's right.
I think that he was right. – I think he was right.
I think he will be right. – I think he'll be right.
I shall ask him where she is now. – I'll ask him where she is now.
I shall ask him where she was yesterday. – I'll ask him where she was yesterday.
I shall ask him where she will be at 2 o"clock. – I'll ask him where she will be at 2 o'clock.

So, the rule of tense agreement comes into force only when the predicate verb of the main sentence is in the past tense. In this case, the predicate of the subordinate clause will always be in one of the past tenses.

There are three time relationships:

I. The actions expressed by the predicates of the main and subordinate clauses are simultaneous. Moreover, in an additional subordinate clause Present Simple changes to Past Simple, Present Continuous to Past Continuous.
Consider a simple declarative sentence with a verb in the form Present Simple:

Doesn't live in London.
He lives in London.

If we make this sentence a subordinate clause of the main clause, the predicate of which is in the past tense, then the predicate of the Russian subordinate clause will retain the form of the present tense, and the predicate of the English subordinate clause, subject to the rule of tense agreement, will change the form Present Simple to Past Simple:

(Past Ind.) He said(Past Ind.) that he lived in London.
(Past time) He said (Present time) that he lives in London.

A few more examples:

1. My brother is reading. (Present Continuous)
My brother is reading (now)
Ho: (Past Ind.) I saw (Past Cont.) that my brother was reading.
(Last time) I saw,(Present time) what my brother is reading.

2. She likes Moscow. (Present Simple)
She likes Moscow.
But: She said that she liked Moscow.She said that she likes Moscow.

3. She is sleeping. (Present Continuous)She is sleeping.
Ho: I knew that she was sleeping.
I knew she was sleeping.

The rule of tense agreement does not apply if the subordinate clause informs about generally known facts:

The teacher said that the sun rises in the East.
The teacher said that the sun rises in the East.

II. The action expressed by the predicate of the subordinate clause precedes the action of the main one, while in the additional subordinate clause Present Perfect And Past Simple change to Past Perfect.

Didn't come on Monday.
He arrived on Monday.

But: I heard that he had come on Monday.
I heard that he arrived yesterday.

Has not bought a new flat.
He bought a new apartment.

But: Didn't say that he had bought a new flat.
He said that he bought a new apartment.

In this case, we simply follow the rule for using the Past Perfect tense: it denotes a past event that occurred earlier than another past event:

Pete said that he had already seen the film.
Peter said that he had already seen this film.

III. The action of the subordinate clause occurs later than the action in the main clause. In this case:

1. Future Simple changes to Future Simple-in-the-Past(future uncertain in the past)
2. Future Continuous – on Future Continuous-in-the-Past(future continuous in the past)
3. Future Perfect – on Future Perfect-in-the-Past(future perfect in the past)
4. Future Perfect Continuous – on Future Perfect Continuous-in-the-Past(future perfect continuous in the past).

All times Future-in-the-Past are formed by mechanically replacing auxiliary verbs:

Shall on should.
Will on would.

1. Will not write his report in the library. – I knew that he would write his report in the library.
(Future Simple) – (Future Simple-in-the-Past).
He will write a report in the library. – I knew that he would write a report in the library.

2. Will not be writing his report in the library from 10 till 12 o"clock. – I knew that he would be writing his report in the library from 10 till 12 o"clock.
(Future Continuous) – (Future Continuous-in-the-Past)
He will write a report in the library from 10 to 12 o'clock. – I knew that he would write a report in the library from 10 to 12 o’clock.

3. Will not have his report written by Monday. – He said that he would have written his report by Monday.
(Future Perfect) – (Future Perfect-in-the-Past)
He will write the report by Monday. He said he would write a report by Monday.

4. By Monday he will have been writing his report for 5 days. – I was said that by Monday he would have been writing his report for 5 days.
(Future Perfect Continuous) – (Future Perfect Continuous– in-the-Past)
By Monday it will have been 5 days since he wrote the report. – I was told that by Monday it will be 5 days since he wrote the report.

II. Test sentences

VOCABULARY FOR LESSON 9

to think –[θɪŋk] – think
to be right – – to be right
to hear – – hear
to buy – – buy
all – – all, all, everything, everything
article –["ɑːtɪkl] – article
to be sure – – sure
to promise -["promɪs] – promise
to shave –[ʃeɪv] – to shave
bathroom –["bɑːθruːm] – bathroom)
to forget - – forget
to wind – – wind (watch)
watch - – wrist watch
to freeze –["frɪ:z] – freeze
zero –["zɪərəu] – zero
degree – – degree
centigrade -["sentɪgreɪd] – centigrade divided by one hundred degrees
centigrade thermometer –["sentɪgreɪd θə"mɔmɪtə] – Celsius thermometer (thermometer with a centigrade scale)
to happen –["hæp(ə)n] – happen, occur

To deepen the topics in this section, do not skip the section.

Brazil is a wonderful country. We all know about her success in football and remember the bright flag. This country can hardly leave anyone indifferent. I would like to get to know the culture of Brazil better. And, naturally, we should start with the language. So what is the language in Brazil?

Official language

Brazil is a country in South America. The only official language in Brazil is Portuguese. Moreover, Brazil is considered the only Portuguese-speaking state in America. It is easy to guess that Portugal used to be a metropolis in relation to Brazil. We can talk about the use of a specific Brazilian version of the Portuguese language.

According to one version, even the name of the country is associated with the Portuguese language. Allegedly, the Portuguese discovered trees on the coast, and the wood began to be exported in large quantities to Europe. This tree was named "pau brazil" by the Portuguese, meaning "brazil tree". The word "brasil" comes from the Portuguese "brasa". And it in turn means “heat” or “hot coals”. The Portuguese thought they had found a place where the commercially valuable brazil tree grew, which the Arabs traded. This tree produced valuable redwood, which was used to make paints, furniture and musical instruments. However, they were mistaken - Arab traders brought a tree related to this species, but a different one. But the name, nevertheless, could perhaps stick.

Aboriginal and immigrant languages

However, Brazil can be considered a multilingual country. There are now 175 languages spoken, including both Aboriginal and immigrant languages. It is stated that there were another 120 languages that were once spoken, but they have disappeared. True, less than 1 percent speak an unofficial language. There are indigenous Indian languages in Brazil: Nyengatu, Tukano, and Boniva. They are notable for having become the second official languages of one of the municipalities in the state of Amazonas. There are also a huge number of Indian languages. Also spoken in Brazil are European and Asian languages, which were brought with them by immigrants from these countries.

By learning Portuguese, you can feel at home in Brazil, “where there are a lot of wild monkeys in the forests,” as Charlie’s Aunt says in the movie Hello, I’m Your Aunt! Ah, this bright country of Brazil! Now you know what language they speak there.