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Gammar Nazis Wanted


  • Oddities
    May 21 4:31 AM
    Reply
    I have a question that my lack lustre education can't handle, namely, can "is" be used in past tense?

    Example.

    I went to the ice-cream van and bought a cone, I got chocolate because it is my favourite.

    …it WAS my favourite, makes it sound like vanilla or something is now my favourite, it totally changes the meaning of the sentence.

    Anyone know what teh proper form is?

    This has been thrashing my head now for two days! Help!

  • Marta
    May 21 ↑
    Reply
    IS:
    is:3rd.person singular.pr.indic. of Be. Was when unstressed.2nd pers. sing.and 1st and 3rd pers.pl.p ind. Were. 3rd pers,sing.,pl.pr. Am. 2nd pers. pl.pr.indic. Are.or Am.Being. 1) Think therefore I am. (to exist).2)To occupy a specific food is on the table. 3)To take place(occur) 4)To come or go:Have you been to Japan? 5)used as a copula linking a subject and a predicate nominative,adjective,or pronoun as: a)To equal in identity:all athletes are hard workers....7) Informal use in combination with ALL or LIKE to introduce quotations. Used with past participle of a transitive verb to form a passive voice:The election is held annually. Used with a present participle of a verb to express a continuing action: We are trying to improve our services. Used with an infinitive of a verb to express intention,obligation or future action:She was to call before she left.Archiac used with past participle of certain intransitive verbs to form a perfect tense:He is gone to a better place. Be: To make:cause to become.

    WASwhen unstressed):1st and 3rd person sing.p. ind.of BE.


  • Glowstarcharmer
    May 21 ↑
    Reply
    Well technically 'is' is not in past tense in that sentance. You are simply informing the reader of a fact that is still true in the present so all that happens is that sentance contains two tenses and as far as I know that doesnt violate any grammatical laws.

    Having said that someone with an official gramma swastika emblazoned upon their uniform will probably come along and correct me but to the best of my knowlegde 'is' would be the correct word to use.

  • Barbara
    May 21 ↑
    Reply
    ... because it's my favorite...



  • ursabear
    May 21 ↑
    Reply
    I failed grammar in high school but it seems to me that chocolate would be your favorite no matter how many moments have passed. So Is is the Great Truth. And who talks in proper grammar anyway? This is America!

    • Barbara
      May 22 ↑
      Reply
      Storywrite has members all over the world. And it never hurts to write in a way that people will understand what you're saying.

  • GuitarShank
    May 22 ↑
    Reply
    Personally, I don't think it matters. If you want to be specific that it's not your favorite flavor anymore, then you should definitely use 'was.' Otherwise, grammar nazis are going to be the only people pointing it out.

    You could take Barbara's spin on it or something similar like this: "...and bought my a cone of my favorite flavor of ice cream, chocolate."

  • KodyBoye
    May 24 ↑
    Reply
    I went to the ice-cream van and bought a cone, I got chocolate because it is my favourite.

    I went to the ice cream van and bought chocolate, my favorite flavor.

    But like Shank said, it doesn't really matter, lol.

  • Hyperbole
    May 24 ↑
    Reply
    I believe that 'is' is correct. As long as Chocolate IS still your favorite ice-cream flavor, it's correct. As long as you still exist, your preference has nothing to do with the rest of the sentence.

  • trulyeffingoode
    June 2 ↑
    Reply
    Unless the narrator is dead, 'is' is correct. Even if he/she is dead, the fact that he/she is capable of narrating likely implies the persistence of the narrator's sentience, in which case 'is' is still probably correct

  • blueraven6
    June 15 ↑
    Reply

    Grammar?

    Try this: "I got chocolate because it's my favorite."

    How does that work for you?

    blueraven6

  • the back row
    June 15 ↑
    Reply
    Depends on whether your narrator still likes chocolate or not at the time of narration. If they do, yes, it's correct.

  • trulyeffingoode
    June 16 ↑
    Reply
    hopefully i am not being redundant, but if that *were* the case, please ignore. slash, delete. but, this is the best homepage ever for grammar nazis:

    http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors

    i didn't really read the policy on the website, so if in error, please ignore, slash, delete.
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