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ZeroX14 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Confused over the use of past/present tenses

Hi there, I understand that past tense is used to describe something which had already happened while present tense can be used to describe a fact i.e. "the dog HAS 4 legs". But what if the situation is both? E.g. He IS the first to reach the North Pole or he WAS the first to reach the North Pole ?

Its a fact that he's still the first but the event occurred a long time ago, so which do we use then?

How about "This toy IS (or) WAS from the first few series that came out in the mid 1990s" ?
  

Top answer

You would use past tense to describe the trip to the pole. He was the first to reach the North Pole. Either is or was would work for the other sentence.

— Blue Jay

  • You would use past tense to describe the trip to the pole.
  • He was the first to reach the North Pole.
  • Either is or was would work for the other sentence.
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11 Answers
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You would use past tense to describe the trip to the pole. He was the first to reach the North Pole.
Either is or was would work for the other sentence.
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But it remains a fact that he's the first to reach the North Pole, hence why "was" ?
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I expect it's because we think of it as referring to an event that happened in the past.
In the case of the toy, we can see it as a toy that was made in the 1990s (originally it was part of a set), or we can see it as a toy that is a part of a set (a set that was introduced in the 1990s).
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zeroX14But it remains a fact that he's the first to reach the North Pole, hence why "was" ?
It's because he's dead. You can't say he is anything if he's dead, unless you say he is dead.
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zeroX14He IS the first to reach the North Pole
You may use it in the so-called historical narrative.
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AnonymousYou may use it in the so-called historical narrative.
Quite true, but how often does that happen? I can't remember the last time I used the historical narrative in reference to first-time events, if I ever did. That would normally come up only in history books written in popular style or in film documentaries, I would think.

CJ
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Just a follow-up question: how about for non-fiction characters? I.e. Darth Vader IS Luke's father or WAS Luke's father? He's already dead.
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zeroX14 non-fiction characters? I.e. Darth Vader
I think Darth Vader is a fictional character, not a non-fictional character!

If you are asked who Darth Vader is, you say "He is Luke's father" because you're just explaining the relationship. That's like a definition. But if you're retelling the whole story, when you refer to D.V. in the part of the
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ooops my bad on the fiction / non-fiction portion; was rather sleepy when typing that. Thanks for the clarification.
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So to sum things up, am I right to say if Im asking about a situation / item / person in general, I can use the present tense? I.e. "How IS the food in London" (in the context of a general question). While I would say "How WAS the food in London" (in the context of asking about a person's past holiday trip to London).

Am I on the right track ?
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