"My parents thought that you were our teacher."
Translation:Мои родители думали, что вы наш учитель.
8 Comments
Here the English is ambiguous. "My parents thought that you were our teacher" could mean
a) they thought you were currently our teacher
b) they thought you are the teacher that we used to have. i.e. they thought they recognised you but got it wrong**
Am I right in thinking that Russian does distinguish between the two interpretations, and would use был(а) in the latter case?
Yes, but if you are speaking to someone older, in a position of authority, or a stranger, then you should probably use вы
803
Тут всё абсолютно правильно. Просто в английском необходимо согласовывать времена, а в русском нет. Поэтому английское предложение:
I thought he knew переводиться как Я думал он знает т.е. знает на тот момент когда я думал. Так как действие происходит в одно и тоже время.
А предложение Я думал он знал будет переводиться так: I thought he had known.
https://www.native-english.ru/grammar/sequence-of-tenses
мои родители думали что ты был нашем учетелям
"Were" refers to past tense. This answer should be also accepted don't you think?
