when he was

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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Silver Orange
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when he was

Post by Silver Orange »

There's this sentence that I find odd. "When he was head of the clan it would be otherwise, vowed the young warrior", followed by "If he had only his own will to consult, his chosen wife would be a lady of high station and exquisite grace". What's the justification here? He has never been the head of the clan, so what's up with this grammar? I would like some explanation. :-)
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Alan
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Re: when he was

Post by Alan »

I think you're misinterpreting 'was' as referring to a real past event, whereas it in fact refers to a relative future event. In other words, a past thought is being reported which would originally, in the speaker's mind, have been couched in the present tense ("When I am head of the clan" - i.e. at some future time).
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