Why have they used past tense to address some facts that are true in present?
I found the following article on BBC. Indeed, it is a scientifically proven fact that the speed of the expansion of the universe is accelerating. So, it is something that is happening now. Therefore, I cannot understand that why the writer of the following article used "was" instead of "is". Thus, could someone please let me know what are the reasons that they have used past tense in the following sentence.
For example, the observation that the expansion of the Universe was speeding up was attributed to a mysterious phenomenon known as dark energy. But some researchers have previously suggested it could be evidence of a fifth force.
Reference:-
https://www.bbc.com/news/56643677
Edit: Corrected header. CJ
Top answer
dileepa observation It is a form of indirect speech. They observed that the expansion of the universe was accelerating. Galileo observed that the little stars around Jupiter were moving.
- dileepa observation It is a form of indirect speech.
- They observed that the expansion of the universe was accelerating.
- Galileo observed that the little stars around Jupiter were moving.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
dileepaobservation
It is a form of indirect speech.
They observed that the expansion of the universe was accelerating.
Galileo observed that the little stars around Jupiter were moving.
0dileepaSo, it is something that is happening now.
You are right, of course, but we often do that. It is called backshifting. The observation happened in the past, and that is when the universe was speeding up for our purposes in this sentence.
0dileepaI cannot understand that why the writer of the following article used "was" instead of "is".
dileepathe observation [ that the expansion of the Universe was1 speeding up ] was2 attributed to ...
was1 in the subordinate clause matches the tense of was2
0
Related Questions