I always make this grammatical mistake!!
Could you explain about this?

In my third last note, I wrote,
"When a few children found out that a boy [ likes ] a girl, they made fun of him for it"

This is a corrected version.
"When a few children found out that a boy [ liked ] a girl, they made fun of him for it"

Even though he still likes the girl, why should I have to use the past tense in this sentence? If it's the past tense, I feel like that it's uncertain if he likes the girl now. That's why I always make this mistake! I'll appreciate if you explain about this.

Question

I always make this grammatical mistake!!
Could you explain about this?

In my third last note, I wrote,
"When a few children found out that a boy [ likes ] a girl, they made fun of him for it"

This is a corrected version.
"When a few children found out that a boy [ liked ] a girl, they made fun of him for it"

Even though he still likes the girl, why should I have to use the past tense in this sentence? If it's the past tense, I feel like that it's uncertain if he likes the girl now. That's why I always make this mistake! I'll appreciate if you explain about this.

Answer

"Even though he still likes the girl, why should I have to use the past tense in this sentence?" - this is exactly what's causing the mistake. We don't need to think about this! :)

The fact is, you're narrating events in the past so you only need to report what was true at that time. So, just use past tenses.

Answer

It does not matter if he still likes the girl. You are not talking about the present. The first clause is talking about the past. So you are talking about the past, using the simple past. The simple past excludes the present, at least in the indicative mood.  You cannot switch to the present in the second clause. Your sentence says nothing about the present, and we do not know whether he still likes the girl or not.

Try another sentence in the simple past: I called my father yesterday.

This also talks about the past, and it has nothing to say about the present.

Answer

It's perfectly OK to mix simple present tense and past tense together as long as they are correctly used. e.g., What you wrote is wrong. This is totally acceptable.

I think your both versions are grammatically correct although implying different facts. The usage must then follow the context accordingly. Probably the author doesn't know what happened to the boy and the girl later, so the only thing the author was sure is that the boy "liked" her.

My personal idea : ) Hope it helps and please correct me if I am wrong.

Answer

What a surprise! I never knew that because I've never met native English speakers who say like you do. Even though it is quite often clearer *not* to use backshifting when the situation is still true, this way is not common for natives, isn't it? You are an English teacher, but people around you say the way, "not" to use backshiting, like this case?

Answer

By "optional and quite often clearer" I meant it is quite often clearer *not* to use backshifting if the situation is still true.