ARE or WERE which one is right?

Question

Cavalchini said her painting are good enough to express the whole universe!

Cavalier King · Accepted Answer

Are

Regards · Answer

Hi,
I am not sure what the meaning of this sentence is, but grammatically, your sentence is incorrect as you
have misspelled paintings. If you had written it correctly, then either are or were would have been appropriate.
However, in this case, were is always considered correct because it is generally accepted that the backshift
can refer to the present time even if the sentence is written in the past tense. If you really wanted to emphasize
the reference to the present time, then you could use are, but it does not mean were is not as good.

Maybe you meant to write: Cavalchini said her paintings are / were good enough to express the properties
of the whole universe. Besides, there is no need for the exclamation mark at the end of the sentence;
a period is enough.

Regards

Cavalier King · Answer

Thanks Regards for your detailed analysis. I'm taking my suggestion back. Thanks.

ARE or WERE which one is right?

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