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grammaticalitytenses

What is the difference in meaning between these two sentences?

I really don't know what she would like to have for a birthday present, so I bought a purse.

I really didn't know what she would like to have for a birthday present, so I bought a purse.

Best Answer

John Lawler is correct:

If you have found out in the meantime what she would like to have for a birthday present (so that you know it at the time of speech), then you probly wouldn't use the first one, because you really do know that. Other than that, there's no difference in meaning, and any native speaker could produce either one in any situation. See, nobody cares what you knew or when you knew it; the point of the sentence is to announce that you bought a purse on spec, and nobody will notice the tense of the verb in the introductory clause.

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