"Když jsem otevřel oči, můj pokoj byl prázdný."
Translation:When I opened my eyes, my room was empty.
November 9, 2017
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HenMa402882
863
I wrote "When I opened the eyes, my bedroom was empty" as it was bot mentioned any possessive term for the word "eyes". Is it really incorrect?
Those are sentences where all other European languages use the present tense, but English backshifts the tense due to something called "reported speech", it's a peculiarity of English. A typical example is as follows:
- František řekl: "Jsem unavený". -- František said: "I am tired."
- František řekl, že je unavený. -- František said he was tired.
This is different from sentences that are in the past, no matter whether the past is defined by a set expression or by a temporal clause, it's still the same past situation requiring a past tense:
- My room was empty two hours ago. -- Můj pokoj byl prázdný před dvěma hodinami.
- My room was empty when I came home. -- Můj pokoj byl prázdný, když jsem přišel domů.