is/was investigation

Is.
Is from.


The example exists in the present and is being handed out in the present.

Notice that Lordy doesn't state that the other is wrong, WB.

Thank you~ But JTT does not state the other is correct either...

The present tense is used for action that are taking place now. The teacher is talking about the material. He refers to the material in the present tense. ("This is from . . ."

Next week you could say "The teacher talked about the material. The quote he presented was from Shakespeare."

In a presentation, students get handouts, with quotations.
What should I say? What is wrong?:
-The first example is/was from William Shakespeare.
-The first example is/was taken from William Shakespeare.

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What usually happens in situations like this, WB, is that a body gets a scenario into their mind, and often for good reasons, like Lordy, but it blinds them to other potentials. This happens to all native speakers even those who study language full time.

Punkey: The present tense is used for action that are taking place now. The teacher is talking about the material. He refers to the material in the present tense. ("This is from ...)
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If what you say is true, Punkey, which of the two, below, would be the appropriate one for someone speaking right now?


1. The first example is taken from William Shakespeare.

2. The first example was taken from William Shakespeare.

LGSWE: " ... will all find it (the LGSWE) useful to know which grammatical patterns are common and which are rare. Hitherto this information has been based on native-speaker intuition. However, native speakers rarely have accurate perceptions of these differences: ... "

Don't you think WAS is logical? If TAKE is defined as typing the example into the file before printing and giving out the handouts, then naturally this act, being in the past, should be in the past tense.

Well, Lordy, Punkey, what do you think?

Lordy is right. JTT only cares about JTT. He deliberately overcomplicates things to confuse the student and make himself appear smarter. The advice he gives changes, depending on what guidance has been given previously, normally just to provoke an argument.

Do yourself a favour and put him on ignore, otherwise you'll just end up being more confused than you were to begin with.

With JTT, it's all about his ego.

Re: Izzy and his brilliant summation of the language issues,

LGSWE: " ... will all find it (the LGSWE) useful to know which grammatical patterns are common and which are rare. Hitherto this information has been based on native-speaker intuition. However, native speakers rarely have accurate perceptions of these differences: ... "

eg Every year in the public exam there are usually 5 or 6 students who get/got/have got 10 A's.

Which tense should I use? Which is wrong? GET sounds OK because it is a general situation, like ARE in the sentence; GOT sounds OK because the speaker is in this case imagining a particular case, and the act of GETTING happened before there BEING any student. If GOT could be use, I think HAVE GOT could also be used, right?

Every year in the public exam there are usually 5 or 6 students who get 10 A's.

This covers a general statement. When you talk about a specific year you use got.

Last year in the public exam 5 students got 10 A's.


For the past ten years, in the public exam, at least 5 or 6 students have got ten A's each year.

Thank you~

I would say "is" for the first one and "was" for the second. The handout still has the example on it, so it should be present tense. The second one would be correct either way, but I would say "was" because you took the example at an earlier time.

Your 1st language UK or US?

My first language is english. I don't see why it matters, but I'm American.

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Original poster: In a presentation, students get handouts, with quotations.
What should I say? What is wrong?:
-The first example is/was from William Shakespeare.
-The first example is/was taken from William Shakespeare.
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What if someone asked, "Where were these quotes taken from?"

Do you think it impossible, Mika, that in an answer from a native speaker that person could hold the speaker's WAS in mind and answer,

"The first was from William Shakespeare."

Is it impossible for a native speaker to ask,

"Where are these quotes taken from?"

Thank you~

Are they both correct?

-Today is/was the day he was killed ten years ago.
-The day he was killed ten years ago is/was today.