Hello,
I'm very confused about the tense of the expression "turn out" itself, and also the tense in the clause started with "turn out".
I'm not sure when I should use "turns out" and when "turned out". And also, I find sometimes people use past tense clause started with "turns out"(present tense).
E.g.
1. "I thought I was the best person for that job. But it turns out I was just flattering myself."
2. "I thought I was the best person for that job. But it turned out I was just flattering myself."
Can these two sentences both correct? If not, are there other ways of saying it?
E.g.
3. "I thought I was the best person for that job. But it turns out I am just flattering myself."
or
4. "I thought I was the best person for that job. But it turned out I am just flattering myself."
Thanks in advance.
a1
A good point: I hadn't noticed that before. They seem to have the same meaning; I can't see any nuance of time or aspect that distinguishes the present and past versions.
I wouldn't use (4), but just because of the normal phenomenon of tense agreement: past tense 'turned' causes logically present tense 'am' in a subordinate clause to be past tense also.
a2
Well, it simply depends on when this moment of clarity occurred.
"I thought I was the best person for that job. But it turns out I was just flattering myself." - Back then, I thought that. Now, I have learned that it was not the case.
"I thought I was the best person for that job. But it turned out I was just flattering myself." - Back then, I thought that. At a later point, still in the past, I learned that it was not the case.
a3
Lenard had thought his parents hold a secret birthday party to suprise him. But it turns out his grandfather had died.
Why it was "turns out" but "turned out" since he narrated a past time story?
He narrated the adventures which had befallen then on their vacation.
그는 자기들의 휴가 중에 일어난 모험 이야기를 했다.
turn out
— phrasal verb with turn verb
(HAPPEN)
B2
to happen in a particular way or to have a particular result, especially an unexpected one:
As events turned out, we were right to have decided to leave early.
How did the recipe turn out?
B2
to be known or discovered finally and surprisingly:
[ + to infinitive ] The truth turned out to be stranger than we had expected.
[ + that ] It turns out that she had known him when they were children.
More examples
After all that media attention, the whole event turned out to be a bit of a damp squib, with very few people attending.
The party turned out to be a huge disappointment.
The news report about the explosion turned out to be false.
She thought she was pregnant, but it turned out to be a false alarm .
My fears turned out to be groundless.
turn out
— phrasal verb with turn verb
to happen or become known to happen in a particular way:
She assured him that everything would turn out all right.
It turns out (that) Ray had borrowed the money from one of his students.
turn out
— phrasal verb with turn verb
(COME)
to come, appear, or be present:
A lot of actors turned out for the audition.