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Soonny002 Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Question regarding past and present tense.
I'm confused with the usage of 'is' and 'was'.
When writing an essay, I find myself using 'is' and 'was' in the same paragraph and sometimes even within the same sentence!
Is it better to just stick with 'is' or 'was' throughout my entire essay to avoid errors and confusion?
When writing an essay, I find myself using 'is' and 'was' in the same paragraph and sometimes even within the same sentence!
Is it better to just stick with 'is' or 'was' throughout my entire essay to avoid errors and confusion?
Top answer
soonny002 When writing an essay, I find myself using 'is' and 'was' in the same paragraph and sometimes even within the same sentence! That could easily be; it just depends on the context: He is happy, but he was happier before he married her . soonny002 Is it better to just stick with 'is' or 'was' throughout my entire essay to avoid errors and confusion?
- soonny002 When writing an essay, I find myself using 'is' and 'was' in the same paragraph and sometimes even within the same sentence!
- That could easily be; it just depends on the context: He is happy, but he was happier before he married her .
- soonny002 Is it better to just stick with 'is' or 'was' throughout my entire essay to avoid errors and confusion?
- As you can see, it all depends on each particular sentence.
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2 Answers
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soonny002When writing an essay, I find myself using 'is' and 'was' in the same paragraph and sometimes even within the same sentence!That could easily be; it just depends on the context:
He is happy, but he was happier before he married her.
soonny002Is it better to just stick with 'is' or 'was' throughout my entire ess
00
No. "is" denotes present tense; was, past tense. Make your tense reflect your sense. When the author writes
"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times,"
he is going to tell a story some time in the past, a time filled with the contradictory: the best and the worst, wisdom and foolishness, hope and despair. The "was" tells you that the story will be about the
"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times,"
he is going to tell a story some time in the past, a time filled with the contradictory: the best and the worst, wisdom and foolishness, hope and despair. The "was" tells you that the story will be about the
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