"I thought you were free now"

[MeyaN]

"I thought you are free now".
"I thought you were free now".

Which one of the above is correct ?

Also please tell me if I should use "I thought you were free then" in writing?

 

[ChinaDan]

The second one. You might also say, "I thought you would be free now".

 

[MeyaN]

Thank you.

Shouldn't 'now' be converted to 'then'? Is the second sentence grammatically correct? What about in writing?

 

[Matthew Wai]

Does 'free' refer to the time at the moment of speaking or an earlier time?

 

[emsr2d2]

How about this email dialogue between two people in the same building but in different rooms?

John: Can we get together to talk about this?
Dave: Yeah, sure. Come down to my office.
John: On my way.
Dave: Hang on! I'm in the middle of something here. Give me ten minutes.
John: Oh, sorry. I thought you were free now! I'll be there in ten.

 

[emsr2d2]

I should have made it clear that that wasn't meant to refer specifically to Piscean's comment about which might be used in writing. I was just showing how "were" might be used with "now".