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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
What do I do with this mixed tense problem?
Hello. I am very happy to find this forum! I have a sentence that seems off to me.
“Beautiful tone, beautiful heart,” Dr. Suzuki believed that the proper aim of music education is to pursue this philosophy in daily life.
The problem is the tense agreement. My sentence is about Dr. Suzuki who is now deceased; so I am using the past tense to say he "believed" xyz. But I want to develop the idea that this xyz is very much-- timelessly-- the aim of music education. Using "was" (instead of the "is" I am using, implies that is is no longer the aim. (To my ear) "was" undermines the entire thesis I want to develop.
Yet, if I have this "believed" (past tense) and then the present tense "is," I am not sure if the sentence is (a) grammatically correct and (b) if it sounds off to the reader.
Thanks for any help....
“Beautiful tone, beautiful heart,” Dr. Suzuki believed that the proper aim of music education is to pursue this philosophy in daily life.
The problem is the tense agreement. My sentence is about Dr. Suzuki who is now deceased; so I am using the past tense to say he "believed" xyz. But I want to develop the idea that this xyz is very much-- timelessly-- the aim of music education. Using "was" (instead of the "is" I am using, implies that is is no longer the aim. (To my ear) "was" undermines the entire thesis I want to develop.
Yet, if I have this "believed" (past tense) and then the present tense "is," I am not sure if the sentence is (a) grammatically correct and (b) if it sounds off to the reader.
Thanks for any help....
Top answer
“Beautiful tone, beautiful heart . ” Dr. Suzuki believed that the proper aim of music education is to pursue this philosophy in daily life.
- “Beautiful tone, beautiful heart .
- ” Dr.
- Suzuki believed that the proper aim of music education is to pursue this philosophy in daily life.
- Fine (as corrected).
- Using 'was' does not imply that the pursuit of that philosophy is no longer the aim.
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2 Answers
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“Beautiful tone, beautiful heart.” Dr. Suzuki believed that the proper aim of music education is to pursue this philosophy in daily life.
Fine (as corrected).
Using 'was' does not imply that the pursuit of that philosophy is no longer the aim. It's just a backshift of a tense to match 'believed'. Nevertheless, your use of 'is' is als
Fine (as corrected).
Using 'was' does not imply that the pursuit of that philosophy is no longer the aim. It's just a backshift of a tense to match 'believed'. Nevertheless, your use of 'is' is als
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