I wouldn t say he was brilliant but he is competent at his job. 請問這句話 如何用時態規則 說明?

I [wouldn't] say he [was] brilliant [but] he [is] competent at his job. ←← [would (not)]係 "will" 的過去式，表示委婉的語氣，而因時態一致性原則，be動詞用 "was" 過去式；“but” 連接詞的子句，be動詞用 "is"，表示指在職中的勝任。

I wouldn't say he was brilliant==it is a sentence in subjunctive mood; while the other one ; but he is competent at his job==is to describe of what happened now. Yip