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When to use 'says' and 'said'

  • 10-11-2010 11:36am
    #1
    weatherguy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 92 ✭✭


    I presume says is the present tense and said is the past tense.
    But I have read interviews in newspapers and heard reports of interviews on television and radio when the presenter or journalist use 'says' as if it is still present tense and not 'said'.


Comments

  • #2
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,731 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    You'd need to provide a little more context to get an accurate answer but it's common to recount an incident from the recent past in the present tense. I'm not sure what this particular use is called.


  • #3
    Donkey Oaty
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,533 ✭✭✭Donkey Oaty


    pickarooney wrote: »
    You'd need to provide a little more context to get an accurate answer but it's common to recount an incident from the recent past in the present tense. I'm not sure what this particular use is called.

    The historical present, or narrative present.

    With news bulletins it is a bit different. They want to give a sense of occasion to the story, so it's common to hear things like "Coming up later in the programme, stock markets fall across the globe as new economic measures are introduced" but when the story comes they say "Stock markets fell this morning after new measures were introduced..."

    That's why they often use "says" for politicians before introducing an audio clip, even though it might relate to a single utterance rather than a long-standing general policy (which wouldn't be news as such).


  • #4
    FlutterinBantam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14,575 ✭✭✭✭FlutterinBantam


    I would opine that this thread is based on the usage of 'says' on the radio these days.

    Moncreiffe on NT is a particular example, such as when reading out e-mails: " Sinn Féin are a bunch of pederasts and get their funding robbing banks" Says John from Donnybrook .

    RTE use that format too.


    Don't like that format myself .

    Prefer the past tense .. Said John from Donnybrook.


  • #5
    weatherguy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 92 ✭✭weatherguy


    Thanks for the tip.

    Should Sinn Fein , as an organisation, be referred to in the singular and not plural?
    So should it not read: Sinn Fein 'is' not 'area' and gets 'its' not 'their' funding/////


  • #6
    Donkey Oaty
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,533 ✭✭✭Donkey Oaty


    The use of singular or plural for a political party really depends on whether you consider it to be a collection of people or an institution. John in Donnybrook is speaking about SF in the context of "the members of SF" which is why he used the plural.

    If you said "SF are the oldest party", it could mean that they have the oldest members, whereas "SF is the oldest party" could only mean that it was founded before the others.


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