Is vs. was - part 2

Question

A.  I have strong attention to details.  It is one of the essential elements in my last job.B.  I have strong attention to details.  It was one of the essential elements in my last job.C.  One of my contributions to my past employer is the program I wrote.  Another is I helped them increase cost savings.D.  One of my contributions to my past employer was the program I wrote.  Another was I helped them increase cost savings.1.  Which sentence in each pair above sounds reasonable or better for an interview?2.  If both are OK, what is the difference between "is" and "was" in each pair?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

These are correct:

B. I pay close attention to detail. This was one of the essential elements of my last job.
D. My contributions to my past employment included writing a program and helping to reduce costs.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, Mister Micawber, for correcting my sentences.

Mister MicawberD. My contributions to my past employment included writing a program and helping to reduce costs.

Suppose I left unchanged the "Another..." part in my sentence, I'm just curious what would be the correct linking verb.

My contributions to my past employment included writing a program. Another was helping to reduce costs.

Should it be "Another is" or "Another was"? If both are OK, any difference?

Could you share your thoughts on this as well, please?

Mister Micawber · Answer

Use 'was'.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you very much.  I really appreciate it.

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Mister M,

I'm sorry this thread is already a week old, but I just have a follow-up question I hope you can help me with. Thanks.

Mister MicawberThese are correct:

B. I pay close attention to detail. This was one of the essential elements of my last job.

I originally used "It" for the second sentence above instead of "This". I wonder why "It" was changed. Please explain. Thanks.

What is the difference in meaning/usage between "This was" and "It was"?

Mister Micawber · Answer

I can tell you nothing more than that 'it' is unnatural there, since there is no single noun referent.  Use the demonstrative 'this' to refer back to the whole previous sentence.

Anonymous · Answer

I see "It" can only be used for a single noun referent, unlike "this" which can refer to a whole sentence. Thank you for that clarification.

I was wondering if you could also share your thoughts on my last post in this thread, please. Thank you.

Is vs. was - part 2

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions