Someone says vs Someone said in reported speech

Question

Is " someone says something" ( in the present) acceptable, and if yes , when?

Let's say I just got off the phone with someone, and they said they wouldn't make it on time. I've got someone in front of me waiting anxiously to hear what the person on the phone said.

I answer: "Jake says they won't make it, and wants us to go ahead without them."
How does it compare to " x said they wouldn't / won't make it and [....] " ?

I know this is mostly used in a general sense, as in: "He says it's not in the cards yet" (marriage, or whatever).

So my question is, when reporting something still relevant in the present ( something someone said a few days ago, last week, just a second ago etc), aside from the general sense when reporting something someone often says, is it acceptable to use the verb in the present rather than past simple?

The Independent published this article 8 hours ago: "Donald Trump Jr says his father can't be racist because 'of all the rappers' he has hung out with"

It is acceptable immediately after the fact because come on, you only just hung up, the two seconds don't matter. It is acceptable 8 hours after the fact because come on, you know exactly what The Independent means and also how are they even supposed to know that you will read the article tomorrow, should they change all their tenses for every single reader. And it is acceptable a million years after the fact, because that's the historical present. "It's 1945. Germany lies in ruins. The Russians are celebrating. The ones that are still alive, that is." — RegDwigнt, Feb 07 '18 at 11:38
And, like, all of that is acceptable in every language I am remotely familiar with, not just English. In writing, in speech, in songs, in movies, in YouTube comments, in letters to the Queen. This question strikes me as something a first-time visitor from Jupiter might ask. — RegDwigнt, Feb 07 '18 at 11:42
You've got me all figured out. I come from Jupiter. lol. Thanks for the answers. — Daniel, Feb 07 '18 at 15:51
@Daniel The previous answers could have tried to be more helpful. There are times I would only use 'says' and not 'said'. There is an implication when saying 'says' that "and you can expect the same answer next time", because you chose a state-of-being tense rather than a once-and-done tense. Few would make that distinction in everyday life, but it does exist. — Ross Murray, Feb 07 '18 at 16:00
Does this answer your question? What is the name for the grammatical figure, where the present tense is substituted for a past event? or {Can I say "Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon?}? Or ... — Edwin Ashworth, Nov 18 '23 at 19:13
{Can I use a present tense verb when writing about a past event?}? — Edwin Ashworth, Nov 18 '23 at 19:16

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 18 '23 at 19:07

Yes, this is correct (Huddleston & Pullum (2002), p. 131). First, as in the example from the Telegraph you cited, the present tense is often used in news headlines to describe recent past events. Secondly, the present tense if often used with verbs of communication to describe events that took place in the past; Huddleston & Pullum give the examples:

Your mother tells me you're off to Paris tomorrow.

I hear we're getting some new neighbors.

In these cases, the main clause ("your mother tells...") provides the evidence for believing in the subordinate clause ("you're off to Paris tomorrow"), and the latter is what's foregrounded. This is most commonly used with a small set of verbs like say, tell, form, hear, gather, and understand.

Someone says vs Someone said in reported speech

1 Answers1