Verb tense problem 2

Romiue   Sat Aug 18, 2007 5:07 pm GMT
Please answer my questions (written in the brackets) for the following 3 dialogues:

1) Old man: What day is today?
Lady: Today is Monday.
Old man: What did she say, John?
John: She said today WAS (or IS?) Monday.


2) Husband: What is on TV right now, dear?
Wife: The Oprah Show is on TV right now.
Husband: What? I didn’t hear you.
Son: She said The Oprah Show WAS (or IS?) on TV right now.


3) This is a live “Meg and Jack Radio Show” broadcast:

Meg: (To listeners) All right guys, I think you know what time it is!!
Jack: (To listeners) It’s “Meg and Jack” time!
Meg: (To listeners) Oh, I think I heard Jack say what time it WAS (or IS?).
Meg: (To listeners) That’s right, It’s Meg and Jack time if you didn’t know!!


Thanks!
Guest   Sat Aug 18, 2007 5:40 pm GMT
I'd prefer "is" in each of these three examples, too, but I think you could also get away with "was" in all three cases. (US usage)
Alan Payne   Sun Aug 19, 2007 2:04 pm GMT
In my view numbers 1 and 2 in spoken (UK) English would just sound like "... todays Monday" and ".... shows on TV". In written English I think they could be either "is" or "was". Number 3 would be "is" in both written and spoken (UK) English.
M56   Sun Aug 19, 2007 2:11 pm GMT
Not every reported moment is backshifted. Use sense.