tense

[Ink Ribbon]

Hi all,
This is my first time to post. I am a Japanese student learning Enghlish.

Here's my question.
Are the following sentences both correct? If so, what is the difference between them?

(1) I decided to wait at the station until my wife came.
(2) I decided to wait at the station until my wife comes.

I appreciate it very much if you could give me some advice.
Thank you in advance.

[Brazilian dude]

The way I see is that in the first sentence, you left the stadium already, you're somewhere else and your wife joined you there.

The second one means you're still at the stadium waiting for her and will only leave in her company.

Brazilian dude

頑張ってください！

[Flaminius]

BDに先を越されてしまった。

第二の文では until my wife comesが未来のこととして扱われていることが理解できればOKです。つまり妻がまだ来ていない状況を述べています。

Good luck,
Flam

[Brazilian dude]

僕は西の一番早いピストルだ。

Brazilian dude

[Flaminius]

En japonais, je sense quelque chose lascive dans ce que tu as ecrit. Saie [<-- Sois] gentil.

[Brazilian dude]

Hahahaha, non, pas du tout, je faisais allusion aux films de l'ouest américain où les cowboys se vantaient d'être l'arme la plus rapide de l'ouest.

Brazilian dude

[Flaminius]

西じゃない。西部だよ。西部で一番ピストルが早いのは俺だ、とかね。

[Brazilian dude]

ああ、知らなかったね。ありがとう。

Brazilian dude

[Brazilian dude]

誰もは私たちが分からないのはおもしろいいねえ！

Brazilian dude

[Flaminius]

Henricus intellegit.

[Brazilian dude]

Sed ille non parat periculum.

Brazilian dude

[Ink Ribbon]

I think I got the picture. I was surprised to find Japanese-speaking people in here.

[Garzo]

Hi all,
This is my first time to post. I am a Japanese student learning Enghlish.

Here's my question.
Are the following sentences both correct? If so, what is the difference between them?

(1) I decided to wait at the station until my wife came.
(2) I decided to wait at the station until my wife comes.

I appreciate it very much if you could give me some advice.
Thank you in advance.

Just in case it's not clear...
Came is past tense, and comes is present tense. The main verb of the sentence is decided, so the whole is past tense: the speaker has made the decision. However, the phrase beginning with until is an adverbial phrase attached to the sentence. If the verb in this phrase is in the past tense (came), then she has already come, and it appears that the speaker is recounting the event from a point of view after the fact (his wife did arrive, but he's speaking about his wait for her). If, on the other hand, the verb here is in the present tense (comes), the speaker does not necessarily know whether his wife will arrive or not. He appears to speaking at a time after making his decision to wait, but before her arrival.

Just to complicate things further, it is possible to use the present tense here even if speaking after the event (her arrival). This is called the historic present, and is used (particularly in fiction and story-telling) to make the story more vivid. The historic present makes the hearer/reader feel that they are there in the moment.

I hope that helps.

-- Garzo.

[Ink Ribbon]

Thank you very much for your explanation, which did help me a lot.

[Stargzer]

I think I got the picture. I was surprised to find Japanese-speaking people in here.

Even worse for some of us: they're Japanese-writing people! The French and Latin I can figure out with a dictionary . . .

But just to confuse you, that first sentence could also be written:

Even worse for some of us: there're Japanese-writing people!

Welcome, Ink Ribbon. Stay around a while!