Was or Will be?

Question

Is it correct to say .. "Since the concert was in two days' time, we practiced at the school hall."

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Both are correct.

With "will be," the concert is still in the future.

With "was," it may be in the future, or in the past.

CalifJim · Answer

With "was," it may be in the future

My brain got stuck on this. Maybe I'm just not thinking this through correctly. Can you show me how this one works?

Thanks.

CJ

Avangi · Answer

Anonymous "Since the concert was in two days' time, we practiced at the school hall."

You're too much of a gentleman, CJ.

At the time of the practice at the school hall, the concert was of course in the future.

We don't actually know when the musician wrote this sentence.

I'm assuming it's possible he might have written it during the two days between the practice and the concert, the practice then being in the past and the concert being in the future.

A.

Edit.Okay, I suppose in that case you could argue that he would have had to say, "Since the concert was to be in two day's time, etc." , or "was to have been."

If the practice was in the past, he couldn't say, "Since the concert will be in two days."

At the time of the practice, the concert was "two days off."

CalifJim · Answer

I'm assuming it's possible he might have written it during the two days between the practice and the concert, the practice then being in the past and the concert being in the future.

OK. I was trying to put the practice in the future too, and my brain couldn't match that idea with the past tense 'practiced'. (Too late in the day, maybe?)

So it's like saying on Tuesday,

Since the concert was [tomorrow / on Wednesday], we practiced at the school hall [yesterday / on Monday].

I think that works now, and I believe you can substitute will be, thus,

Since the concert will be [tomorrow / on Wednesday], we practiced at the school hall [yesterday / on Monday].

So both work, just as you said. It's not often we run into a sentence where 'was' and 'will be' amount to just about the same thing - although, even so, I think I prefer the 'will be'.

Thanks.

CJ

_________

You're too much of a gentleman, CJ.

Surely that's not a problem, is it?

CJ

Was or Will be?

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