Concordance of tenses

Anne D.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Concordance of tenses

One of the questions turns the sentence about dolphins into a question: Saviez-vous que les dauphins sont des mammifères?  Could you say why "sont" isn’t concordant with "saviez"? In your article on this subject it says "You can't use the past tense in the main clause with the present tense in the subordinate - the latter must be in the past as well: "Il ne savait pas que j'étais professeur (He did not know that I was a teacher)"      Thanks!

Asked 2 years ago
CélineNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Anne,

This is an excellent question! 

If "savoir que" is conjugated  in L'Imparfait, it is still possible to have the verb that follows (of the subordinate clause) conjugated in Le Présent if it refers to something factual and true, such as the fact that dolphins ARE mammals (and always will be). It is called Le Présent de vérité générale.

Saviez-vous que l'eau bout à 100°C ? = Did you know that water boils at 100°C?
Saviez-vous que les dauphins sont des mammifères ? Did you know that dolphins are mammals?

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

It's actually the same in English: Did you know that dolphins are mammals?

Anne D.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thank you, Céline. I guess "I was (or am) a teacher" is neither a general truth nor inevitable.

Concordance of tenses

One of the questions turns the sentence about dolphins into a question: Saviez-vous que les dauphins sont des mammifères?  Could you say why "sont" isn’t concordant with "saviez"? In your article on this subject it says "You can't use the past tense in the main clause with the present tense in the subordinate - the latter must be in the past as well: "Il ne savait pas que j'étais professeur (He did not know that I was a teacher)"      Thanks!

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