why not past tense?

Question

when you want someone to repeat something that you are going to say,you say repeat what i say cuz its present?

but,,,,in this case you use past tense?---->when im back , i will tell you what i saw.... i dont understand?

Answer 1

The tense of the main clause "I will tell you" puts the whole sentence in the future tense. The tenses of all the subordinate clauses then need to be relative to that future tense. If one says "I will tell you what I see" then he is saying that he will tell (in the future) what he will be seeing at that future time. If he says "I will tell you what I saw" he is telling you that at some time in the future he will tell you what he saw (prior to telling you about it). If he says "I will tell you what I will see" that means that at some time in the future, he will tell you what he will see at some FURTHER time in the future.

Answer 2

The first is present tense because you are presently saying it - in other words it follows immediately. You could also accurately use future tense here - "repeat what I'm going to say".

The second is past tense because you're speaking of yourself in the future, looking back to the past. "I will" is the future . . "what I saw" is the past.

I know, it's confusing.

Answer 3

"when I am back" references a past tense situation where the person who is seeing is no longer seeing but now has seen. So when they return from seeing they will tell you what they saw.

Answer 4

The statement is not phrased very well in the first place. It should be "Upon my return" thus making it clear that the 'telling' is to happens in the future but after another event (the person returning).