Hello, I have a sentence to ask.
If someone said " I was sure of her coming",
Does it mean that he(=I) was sure that SHE HAD COME or he(=I) was sure that she would come?
Which one is correct?
2007-08-27 08:54:37 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
It could mean either. In fact it's a clumsy way to say it because it's ambiguous.
It would be defined by context. "She said she was coming to collect the money I owed her so I was sure of her coming." Obviously this refers to future tense. "She said she had come and put the gift in my mailbox. I found the gift so I was sure of her coming." That would be past tense.
2007-08-27 09:04:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yep, it could mean either. "her coming" is tenseless, thus can refer to any time. Only the context would tell you which was meant.
On its own, without context, I personally would be more likely to think it meant "that she would come" - because I would use "I had been sure of her coming" to mean that she had already come.
2007-08-28 21:35:16 · answer #2 · answered by kmdavisus 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it means he knew she would come.
if he was sure she had come, it would read
"i AM sure of her coming" althought this sentence could still mean both.
hope that helps.
2007-08-27 16:05:01 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd agree that it's more likely "that she would come" but there's no reason why it can't mean "that she had come".
2007-08-27 16:11:12 · answer #4 · answered by Goddess of Grammar 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
which means that at that time he had believed that the girl would absolutely come!
2007-08-28 04:06:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
was sure that she would come...i think.
2007-08-27 15:59:43 · answer #6 · answered by Hollywood Whore Boulevard Kitten 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
that she would come.
2007-08-27 16:01:41 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋