Timeline for Past/present tense when something happened in the past but is still the case
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
9 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 2015 at 21:43 | comment | added | Jay | ... refers to a specific event, the painting of the car, which is now past. (The phrasing of the question implies that it happened in the past.) | |
| Jun 2, 2015 at 21:41 | comment | added | Jay | Just re-reading your title, maybe I should add: The taking of the photo was in the past, so it is NOT "still the case". The photo may still exist, but the taking of the photo is completed. If you were talking about the state of the photograph, you could use the present tense. Like, "Who IS this tall person in the photo?" The person is in the photo now. But once you use the word "take", you are talking about an event, not a state. Just like, "What color is your car?" That is, what color is it now? It may be the same color as in the past, or maybe not. But, "When was your car painted red?" ... | |
| Jun 2, 2015 at 21:29 | comment | added | Jay | ... was at the time. In any case, it would be simpler to say, "Where was the photo taken?" than "Where is/was the place ...". Unless there is some reason why you need to get the word "place" in there. | |
| Jun 2, 2015 at 21:28 | comment | added | Jay | In "Where is the place the photo was taken?", you are asking where the place is (present tense) where the photo was (past tense) taken. The photo was taken in the past, but presumably the place is still there, so the place can be in the present. Whether you ask where the place "is" or "was" doesn't matter much as normally we don't think of places as moving. It would be different if you asked something like, "Where is the car that was in the photo?" versus "Where was the car when the photo was taken?" In the first case we're asking where it is now. In the second case we're asking where it ... | |
| Jun 2, 2015 at 15:56 | comment | added | Kam | So, I can use "where is the place the photo was taken?" "Where was photo taken?" They basically are the same question, But the first one involves a present tense (is) and the second one can't . why? What's the difference? I am kinda stucking at this question. | |
| Jun 2, 2015 at 15:19 | comment | added | Jay | No, that's correct. Sorry, I see I brushed over the past tense in my answer. I've expanded it a little. | |
| Jun 2, 2015 at 15:19 | history | edited | Jay | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added stuff
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| Jun 2, 2015 at 15:04 | comment | added | Kam | Where is the place that the event was held? Is it wrong? | |
| Jun 2, 2015 at 13:53 | history | answered | Jay | CC BY-SA 3.0 |