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I try to learn English more by watching English movies rather than anything else. I was watching the movie Shazam (2019). At 01:27:05 when the boy meets his biological mother. The mother says "I realized that they could do a better job taking care of you than I ever will".

But when you say something which is meant for the past you use could and would. Don't you think it should have been "would" instead of will at the end of the line?

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You are right. Technically, the past tense 'would' should have been used. The reason why the mother says 'will' instead may be that she feels the statement to be still true. Even at the moment of speaking, she does not think she is or will be able to take better care of her son.

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  • Yes. If it were a British movie, there would have been a "would". Americans use the language very flexibly rather more technically. I have seen American actors making grammatical errors in their interviews but who cares. Even I make mistakes while speaking my native language and nobody cares about it.
    – tara11
    Commented Sep 5, 2020 at 3:44

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