RE: a question about verb tense/is or was?

[Dylan McDonald <DMcDonald -at- radvision -dot- com>]

I'm going to vote with Charles on the use of the past tense (*was*) because
the main clause's verb is in the past tense.  I use the following rule for
tense sequence in main/subordinate clauses:

"As long as the main clause's verb is in neither the past nor the past
perfect tense, the verb of the subordinate clause can be in any tense that
conveys meaning accurately. When the main clause verb is in the past or past
perfect, however, the verb in the subordinate clause must be in the past or
past perfect. The exception to this rule is when the subordinate clause
expresses what is commonly known as a general truth."

This rule of thumb is taken from the "Guide to Grammar and Writing," an
online reference maintained by Professor of English Charles Darling for
English courses at Capital Community College and for the general online
public.  The following link from this site contains a useful table for verb
tense sequence (http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sequence.htm).

I hope this information helps.

Regards,

Dylan

-----Original Message-----
From: Cummings, Elizabeth [mailto:CummEl -at- ncs -dot- com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2001 11:05 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: a question about verb tense/is or was?


Hi.  I don't even know how to explain this scenario--which presents some
challenges in conducting a worthwhile search of the archives, of manuals of
style, and so forth.

Which of the following phrases is correct/better/the one to use--and why?
Nevermind the wordiness of these definitions; I'm well aware of it.  I just
need input on whether to use present or past tense here, and in similar
scenarios (a rule of thumb is most welcome.).  I think I should use the
present--because in the context of this situation, the submitted score will
never change--but "it sounds funny".

----
number of times the scorer submitted a score for a response that *is* one
point lower than that which another scorer submitted.

OR

number of times the scorer submitted a score for a student response that
*was* one point lower than that which another scorer submitted.
----

Thanks so much for your thoughts.  Your contributions to my rounding issue a
week or so ago helped me immensely!
--Elizabeth Cummings

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