Which one should I choose:
Don't you think it's time you tell vs told Adrea the truth?
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Vardan Hovhannisyan
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5**Told** is good here, since the statement is not factual. "It's time you" is semantically equivalent to a modal "*shouldn't you* really tell her the truth?!". It's a kind of exhortation, and the backshifted tense marks it as such. – Tᴚoɯɐuo Sep 11 '16 at 11:01
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@TRomano **Told** works?!! strange! everything is in present time, and it is more in subjunctive mode! But, when the *time is now*, how he can *told*....I may accept, "Don't you think it **was** time you told Andrea the truth", but for "it is time ..." it seems strange to me! – Ahmad Sep 11 '16 at 11:44
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1@Ahmad Try searching for *It's (high) time (that) ...* – Damkerng T. Sep 11 '16 at 12:39
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@DamkerngT. it may idiomatically use past tense for "it's time you ..." , but I don't think there is a formal and sane grammar for that and that idiom is an exception. – Ahmad Sep 11 '16 at 12:49
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@Ahmad. I must disagree with the characterization "everything is in present time". "you tell her" or "you are telling her" would be present time. But the original is semantically equivalent to "You should tell her." – Tᴚoɯɐuo Sep 11 '16 at 13:54
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And it doesn't say "it is time" but "*think* it is time". – Tᴚoɯɐuo Sep 11 '16 at 14:08
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@TRomano I see, However, if they talk about a past moment, then was and if they talk about a recommendation for a future time, "is" works. but its your language and you know better, As I think of Persian, such a sentence is understandable but we use more "was" with a past or present subjunctive. (more present subjunctive) – Ahmad Sep 11 '16 at 14:41
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@TRomano If we use "it's time" and "told", it more means "it was the time and is still the time to tell her the truth"... – Ahmad Sep 11 '16 at 14:47
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@Ahmad: you're overlooking "don't you think". In terms of frequency: Don't you think it's time he told her ... it's time he tells her.... I can't recall any contemporary speaker saying "...it's time he *tell* her." – Tᴚoɯɐuo Sep 11 '16 at 15:21
2 Answers
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I would like to stop this discussion by quoting a dictionary where the usage is clearly explained.
It’s time
from English Grammar Today
We can use the expression it’s time + subject + past verb form to refer to the present moment:
Gosh! It’s almost midnight. It’s time we went home.
Not: It’s time we go home.
It’s time with a verb in the to-infinitive form can refer to the speaker and the listener together:
Come on. It’s time to start packing. We have to leave in two hours. (or It’s time we started packing.)
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The construction refers to something that should be happening in the present moment, but isn't happening in the present moment. – Tᴚoɯɐuo Sep 11 '16 at 16:20
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@TRomano to some extent, I understood what you mean and we also say that in Persian (again with a subjunctive mood, something like "*It's almost midnight. it's time we be (were?!) slept*". But to offer someone to sleep now, we use another construction, do you say also "it's time we sleep"? – Ahmad Sep 11 '16 at 17:31
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To answer the question "What do you want to do now?", what is wrong with "I think *it's time we go home*."? – Peter Sep 12 '16 at 04:16
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3@Peter Different speakers have different analyses of that pattern, so in real data you'll find three different forms in the *that*-clause: ① past ("time she **learned** to drive"), ② plain ("time that he **be** tried for his crimes"), and ③ present ("time that human society as a whole **learns** to do the same"). Although all three are attested, not all forms are produced or accepted by all speakers. The past is the most commonly produced and accepted form, so I recommend learners stick to it, even if the other options aren't necessarily wrong. (*It's time we go home* sounds fine to me.) – Sep 13 '16 at 03:25
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I am not a native-speaker, but I think a subjunctive mood is required.
In the case of "it's time", to offer something to do at the present time to + infinitive is used according to this answer.
But otherwise, in the case of your sentence a past subjunctive is used according to these questions and answers and it means something that should have been done at the present time but wasn't, then told as a past subjunctive is correct.
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Contemporary speakers of "standard' English wouldn't say "Don't you think it's time he *tell* her..." Maybe a tiny few might. – Tᴚoɯɐuo Sep 11 '16 at 15:22
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@JavaLatte My answer about using a **subjunctive mood** is not that wrong, just the other answers offer **past subjunctive** and I suggested **present subjunctive** – Ahmad Sep 11 '16 at 17:44
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@TRomano could both **present** and **past** subjunctive applicable here, so I complete my answer? – Ahmad Sep 11 '16 at 17:45
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The only true past subjunctive is for **be** -> **were**. For every other verb, the *past subjunctive* is made using a backshift "I **know** that" -> "I wish I **knew** that", as @TRomano mentions in his initial comment. You can also backshift a simple past to make a *past perfect subjunctive*: "I **knew** that!" -> "I wish I **had known** that!". – JavaLatte Sep 11 '16 at 18:09