[Deleted]
He says he will do it himself VS He said he would do it himself, what's the difference? I mean what's the difference between "says" and "said" here, when some words were said by someone, why we use says instead of using said, thank you!
Mar 16, 2016 4:07 AM
Answers · 5
1
“Says” is present tense and describes an ongoing action. So when you’re reporting something someone said in the past and just once, “said” is more logical. "Says" brings us closer to the action. If you are writing, "said" is never wrong but some people might take exception to "says"...though many won't even notice. However, I would try to be consistent. If you are using the present tense, try to use the present tense throughout your article and the same if you use the past tense.
March 16, 2016
1
They are basically the same in this context, but I would say 'said' is just more past tense than 'says'. For example, if the man in question told you something today or one/two days ago, you would probably use 'says' (even though that is technically past tense, it's still pretty recent). If they told you something longer ago than that (3+ days) it is more likely that 'said' would be used. Simply put, 'says' is used in a more recent context, 'said' is used in a more past tense context. It does not really matter in regular conversation for this case (as many people tend to use these interchangeably to an extent), so do what seems most correct to you.
March 16, 2016
Says means he says daily this but said means he just said in past not daily
March 16, 2016
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!