2

Let's imagine the following situation: someone was once a soldier on a mission (is not anymore!) and wants to write about that period of time. He wants to talk about the feelings of the locals in the mission's country. However, despite writing about the particular people at a particular period of time, he actually wants to primarily address the feelings of locals towards soldiers in general.

"I (have/had) always wondered what people really think/thought about us. Do/did they hate us or do/did they appreciate us?" (please note that the word "always" is meant to indicate it was so during the entire time of the mission.)

So, one might say he actually still wonders about that (both what the natives thought about them at the relevant time, and what they think about soldiers nowadays), but he is no longer a soldier (so "have wondered" probably won't work). I think the "do" version sounds much better, but I'm not sure whether its's entirely correct.

ziu
  • 41
  • 1
    The "do" version applies both to the present and to the past, so I would favor that one. The alternative is set strictly in the past, so wouldn't apply to the person's current musings. – ralph.m Nov 23 '15 at 22:32

1 Answers1

1

have/had: This one is fairly easy to figure out. Does he still wonder about it today, or did he stop wondering at some time before today?

NOTE: the answer for have/had does not affect the other answers, and does not need to agree with them in any way.

think/thought: This one is more tricky. Does the speaker mean that the people still think the same thing today about the soldiers, or does he think the people have changed their minds?

do/did: (happens twice the same) If you went for "think" above, because the people are still thinking the same way today, then use "do" here. If you chose "thought" above, then you'll need "did" for this one.

David
  • 11