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Sophianz Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

tense Present vs Past

Hi. Please help me understand the sentence below.

Among the crimes for which Hitler bears direct responsibility was the attempt to exterminate the Jews.

Q1) Is it gramatically correct to use the present tense "bears" for Hitler, who does not exist any more?
I think that the past tense "bore" would be more appropriate.

Q2) If both are gramatically correct, what is the difference in meaning between "bears" and "bore"?

Hope your reply. Thanks.
  

Top answer

Welcome, sophianz, to the Engish Forums. I think you will enjoy the interaction you will find here. Be prepared, however, for differences of opinion among those who respond to your posts.

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  • I think that there is a slight difference in meaning, using the past or the present in this case.
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4 Answers
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Welcome, sophianz, to the Engish Forums. I think you will enjoy the interaction you will find here. Be prepared, however, for differences of opinion among those who respond to your posts. We do this in a friendly manner.

I think that there is a slight difference in meaning, using the past or the present in this case. I would use the present, because society still holds Hitler respons
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Philip I would use the present, because society still holds Hitler responsible, either because of the proximity in time or because of the extreme nature of the crime. In addition, people whose lives he affected are still living.
I completely agree with this line of thinking!

Edit: Oh, and I join Philip in welcoming you to the forums.
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Thank you, Philip and Grammar Geek, for your quick replies and welcoming me to the forums.
With your help, I have got a better understainding of the sentence.
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bears is simple present third person rule. When you use he, she or it or any noun you could substitute by those three you use bear + s.

bore is simply simple past.

The correct way to say it would be bore, since Hitler is dead, we use past.
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