Which indirect sentence is correct?

Question

"You had better sell the house," Tom said
Tom suggested that I sold / should sell the house (this is the answer of A Practical English Grammar written by A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet)
Tom suggested that I sell / should sell the house (This is the answer of FCE use Of English written by Virginia Evans)

As you see, we have two different ansers here. A Practical English Grammar says we have to use " suggested that + subject + past tense or should" while the other grammar book FCE says we can use "suggested that + present tense or should ". Both of the books say we can use should + infinitive after "suggested that". This is okey, no problem here but one of them says we have to use presnt tense (sell) while the other says we have to use past tense (sold). Which of them is correct?...Thanks for your answers...

Answer 1

According to the English grammar, in Direct Speech, the verb "suggest" in the present tense may be followed by the present tense ("Tom suggests that I SELL the book") and by the gerund ("Tom suggests SELLING the book", which has a slightly different meaning).

In Indirect/Reported speech, if the verb in the main clause is in the present perfect tense ("Tom HAS SUGGESTED [...]"), the verb in the noun-clause MUST be in the present tense ("[...] that I SELL"). By the same token, if the verb in the main clause is in the past ("Tom SUGGESTED [...]"), the verb in the that-clause MUST be in the past ("[...] that I SOLD the book/ SHOULD sell the book"), which rules out V.E.'s alternative "Tom suggestED that I SELL [...]". This sentence contradicts the so-called "sequence of tenses" (she says that she will go/she said that she went/had gone).

In addition, since "I had better" is synonymous with "I should", the most accurate form is, certainly, "shoud sell". V.E.'s alternative ("[...] that I sell") is much used in informal/colloquial English. However, in formal/written style, grammar still rules.

Answer 2

I'm certain that the present tense should be used in this case. The only time the past tense would be used is if Tom were attempting to explain, without evidence, why the house's deed was no longer in your name; i.e. "When asked why my family home was occupied by a clan of Norwegian elk herders, Tom suggested that I perhaps sold the house."

I've never heard, in British or American English, a single instance of the past tense being used as a recommendation in the manner you describe.

Answer 3

Well,
The whole sentence comparison is wrong. It should be
'Tom suggested that I sell / should sell the house"
The correct alternative is actually:
'Tom suggested selling the house"
suggest is the verb which makes sell the infinitive of 'to sell'
this is the same sentence-wise as 'selling' which is a gerund.
both the infinitive and gerund are verbals so are nouns.
the fact that they said there was an infinitive involved makes it certain.

Answer 4

i think it should be sell and not sold.

Say the sentences out loud and you'll see the sold sounds odd.This is always a clear indicative of wrong english(in my case,anyway)

Answer 5

I guess both ways are grammatically correct and it can be used either way.