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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

tense consistence

Although some of his measures brought disasters to the people at that time, his feats far (outweighs) his faults.

The first part of the sentence has a time mark "that time" ,it should be the past tense ,but the second part is a comment ,should I use present tense ? Or I should maintain the consistence of the tense and use past tense ?
Thank you !
  

Top answer

Although some of his measures brought disaster to the people at that time, his successes far outweigh his failures .

— Mister Micawber

  • Although some of his measures brought disaster to the people at that time, his successes far outweigh his failures .
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5 Answers
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Although some of his measures brought disaster to the people at that time, his successes far outweigh his failures.
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Outweight ? Not outweighted ? Why shouldn't I keep the tense consistent? Thank you !
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AnonymousOutweight ? Not outweighted ?
Certainly not! Perhaps you mean 'outweighed'. I chose the present tense because I feel we are analyzing his career from a present perspective. You may use the past if he is long dead and you are speaking mostly of a past assessment of his actions.
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OK ,thank you ,but the first part of the sentence is also an evaluation of him from the perspective of an modern man ,why can't we use "bring"? And can this sentence be rewritten into " He achieved many more feats than blunders? Thank you so much!
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Anonymousthe first part of the sentence is also an evaluation of him from the perspective of an modern man ,why can't we use "bring"?
It clearly states something that he did in the past; it is not an evaluation after the fact.
AnonymousAnd can this sentence be rewritten into " He achieved many more feats than blunders
You ma
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