what you meant vs what you mean

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'What you meant' is past tense and is used to ask about the meaning of something that was said or done in the past. 'What you mean' is present tense and is used to ask for clarification about something being said or done in the present.

Last updated: March 20, 2024

what you meant

This phrase is correct and commonly used to ask about the meaning of something that was said or done in the past.

This phrase is used to inquire about the intended meaning of something that was previously communicated or done.

Examples:

Can you explain what you meant by that statement?
I'm not sure what you meant when you said you would handle it.

Alternatives:

What did you mean?
What was your intention?
What were you trying to say?

what you mean

This phrase is correct and commonly used to ask for clarification about something being said or done in the present.

This phrase is used to seek clarification or further explanation about something that is currently being communicated or done.

Examples:

I don't understand what you mean by that.
Could you please explain what you mean?

Alternatives:

What do you mean?
Could you clarify?
Can you elaborate?

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

what you meant vs what you mean

what you meant

what you mean

Related Comparisons

What Our Customers Are Saying