Is / are / was

Question

Can I say,(a) The fried noodles is / are more delicious than the fried rice.(b) Kok is / was disappointed because he scored the least marks in the test.(c) It was / is very tiring climbing the steep hill.

Free_spirit · Accepted Answer

(a) The fried noodles is / are more delicious than the fried rice.

This is clear, because noodles is a plural word. "The/A noodle is..." or "The/Some noodles are..."

(b) Kok is / was disappointed because he scored the least marks in the test.

It depends if you are talking present or past tense here:

Present tense: Kok is disappointed because he scored the least marks in the test. [In this moment in time, Kok is disappointed...]

Past tense: Kok was disappointed because he scored the least marks in the test. [In the past, Kok was disappointed...]

(c) It was / is very tiring climbing the steep hill.

Again, it depends if you are talking present or past tense:

Present tense: It is very tiring climbing the steep hill.

Past tense: It was very tiring climbing the steep hill.

With (b) and (c), you need more context to know where the subject (e.g. Kok in example b) is performing the actions in the present moment or the past (recent past, or distant past).

In (b) the test was in the past - he failed it in the past, even if the results where not released for days, weeks, or months. It is not possible to know if he is disappointed in the present moment, or if the entire "story" is set in the past.

In (c), climbing can be a present tense verb, as can tiring. However, "was tiring" and "was climbing" are past tense in English. "is tiring" and "is climbing" are present tense. Future tense would be "will be tiring" and "will be climbing". To make this sentence future tense you could write:

It will be very tiring when we climb the steep hill.

Or:

It will be very tiring climbing the steep hill. (which makes it sound as if you are at the bottom of the hill, and plan on climbing it very soon).

Is / are / was

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