View Single Post
Old 06-17-13, 03:04 PM   #19
Sailor Steve
Eternal Patrol
 
Sailor Steve's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: High in the mountains of Utah
Posts: 50,369
Downloads: 745
Uploads: 249


Default

I think both are correct, but if the statement is about the current condition then "does not" would be more appropriate. "Did not" represents the past tense, but "The staff stated" is also past tense, so "Did not" seems like a good choice. The real question is not whether the staff stated it yesterday or five minutes ago, but whether the company's intent is current or past. "Did not" could be taken mean that they didn't intend whatever yesterday, but will tomorrow. "Does not" is definitive: The company does not intend ever to do whatever it is.

Both are correct, but "does not" is better.

At least that's my opinion.

[edit] To make that jumble easier to understand, just look at it with contractions:

1. The staff stated that the company doesn't...

2. The staff stated that the company didn't...

You can see how the second one can be understood more than one way.
__________________
“Never do anything you can't take back.”
—Rocky Russo
Sailor Steve is offline   Reply With Quote