"was sold for" or "is sold for"?

Question

Hi english gurus!I was wondering about the following sentences.Which is right?"A 1909 baseball card was sold for $1.62 million."OR..."Jasper Johns painting is sold for $17 Million."Please help.Thank you!

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

Hello English2

In most cases, you'll use "was" for things like that.

Note that the painting requires an article: A Jasper Johns painting...

Anonymous · Answer

"Was sold" = paid for

"Is sold" - not paid for yet

???

English2 · Answer

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Huevos · Answer

Grammar GeekNote that the painting requires an article: A Jasper Johns painting...

Not necessarilly. "Jasper Johns painting [is] sold for $17 Million." would be typical as a tabloid headline. Or you could make it possessive, "Jasper Johns' painting". Redundant.

Anonymous"Was sold" = paid for

"Is sold" - not paid for yet

???

It has already happened in both cases.

"was sold for" or "is sold for"?

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