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Eunkum Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

the present tense

Hello. Can I say the present tense "(is)" when I write the results based on participant's interviews done in the past? Thanks.

The comments coming from five participants indicate that they are barriers with them.
  

Top answer

eunkum The comments coming from five participants indicate that they are barriers with them. This seems to be correctly written, but I don't understand "barriers with".

— Philip

  • eunkum The comments coming from five participants indicate that they are barriers with them.
  • This seems to be correctly written, but I don't understand "barriers with".
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5 Answers
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eunkumThe comments coming from five participants indicate that they are barriers with them.
This seems to be correctly written, but I don't understand "barriers with".
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Yes to the tense, provided the results were obtained fairly recently and are still of current interest. However, "... that they are barriers with them" doesn't read well. "they" seems at first to refer to the participants, but is that what you mean? "with" seems a poor choice of word.
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Thank you for your response. They refer to the participants. In this case, can I say "they are barriers."?
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Barriers separate one thing from another. It seems that participants shouldn't be referred to as such.
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eunkum Thank you for your response. They refer to the participants. In this case, can I say "they are barriers."?
I think it is not always wrong to refer to a person as a "barrier", but it doesn't seem to work well in your sentence, especially with "with them". If I understood what "with them" meant, perhaps I could suggest an alternative.
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