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Tamguatlay Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

is / was a former detective.

0He01u00 is / was02u00 a former detective.02br
02br
00Should it be 'is' or 'was'?02br
02br
00Thanking in advance.0-
  

Top answer

02br 00CJ 0-

— CalifJim

  • 02br 00CJ 0-
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7 Answers
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0 I'd use 01i00is02i00.02br
00CJ 0-
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1blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite10 I'd use 11i10is12i10. 12br
12br
10CJ 12br
12br
12blockquote
10Hi CJ02br
02br
00I'm confused because the site you provided uses 'was'.02br
02br
01table01tr01td
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0 Doesn't it depend on whether the guy is still alive?02br
00If he's still alive he is a former detective02br
00if he's dead he was a former detective0-
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0
1blockquote
01cite10optilang12cite10 Doesn't it depend on whether the guy is still alive? 12br
12br
10If he's still alive he is a former detective12br
12br
10if he's dead he was a former detective12br
12br
12blockquote
10If he was dead, why don't we say "He was a detective"?' "He
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0If he was a bank manager when he died we could say:02br
00The bank manager who died was a former detective. So he was a former detective does not mean he was a detective when he died 0-
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0 Living: he 01u00is02u00 a former detective 01b00or02b00 he 01u00was/used to be02u00 a detective.02br
00Dead: he 01u00was02u00 a detective at the time of his death; he 01u00was02u00 a former detective (before another job); he 01u00had been02u00
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0 Question 1:02br
00Should it be 01i00He is a former detective02i00 or 01i00He was a former detective02i00? 02br
00Question 2:02br
00Why is 01i00was02i00 used below, and not 01i00is02i00? (See boldface font.)02br
01i00The CEO 01b00was 02
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