有一读者问这样一段话：
(1)“You give her this in the morning,” he said, “and make sure she gets something to eat. If I hear she didn't get it. I'll come back here and pull out all your teeth.”
如何解释这里的过去一般时didn't get?
这是一个时态从属于另一个时态的问题。具体到上述句（1）中的过去一般时didn't get，它即是从属于其前的表将来的现在一般时hear。换言之，从hear的角度来看，get所表的动作就是过去发生的了，虽然从说话时的现在来看，它们都是用以表将来的动作。这种从属于将来时态（包括表将来的现在时态等）的过去一般时并不罕见，再如：
(2)In the years to come it will be a great thing for a man to say that I died here like a hero. （died从属于will be）
(3)As soon as you get it, mail it to me here. I'll be on the lookout, so Tom will never know it came . （came从属于will never know）
(4)Be sure to let me know you arrived safely. （arrived从属于表将来的不定式to let）
