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When we were trying to find a medium to hold the cracks, the use of ceramics came to mind. With some ceramics in stock, we began to experiment different mixing ratio ...

I am learning English grammar rules, pardon me of the elementary question. I did a search and it seems both are acceptable.

I was told I should use came to mind because I am narrating the sequence of events that happened in the past. However, the idea to use ceramics is still present and relevant, is using come to mind a better choice than came to mind?

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    were trying/came, of course. am trying/come
    – Lambie
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 19:26
  • Thanks @Lambie If I were to use we are trying, then using come to mind will be right despite I am narrating a sequence of events that happened in the past?
    – FlyingPenguin
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 23:09

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"Came to mind" is better, unless you are talking about a new, undeveloped idea.

For example,

When we consider what we can do to ease the problem, several ideas come to mind, such as ceramics, super glue, and funny putty.

When we considered what to do, ceramics came to mind, and we started to experiment with them.

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  • The key point here, surely, is that the tense of 'come' must match the tense of 'consider'?
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 11:48
  • Yes, but I introduced the word consider , which doesn't appear in the OP, to point out that the tense of come isn't a free choice.
    – Jack O'Flaherty
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 12:19
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    Came to mind accords with were trying, surely?
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 12:21
  • @KateBunting Yes.
    – Jack O'Flaherty
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 12:23
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    @FlyingPenguin If you use "we were trying", that means that the events were in the past. The time of the action is the reason the verb tense is chosen.
    – Jack O'Flaherty
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 23:19
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"Come to mind" is to get an idea, initially. In other words, it indicates a beginning, it's not the same as the idea just being present in an on-going way.

"Yesterday a stray dog came to our house, and today we still have the dog".

"Yesterday an idea came to mind, and today we still have the idea".

You still have the dog, but that doesn't mean the dog is still arriving; likewise, you still have the idea, but that doesn't mean the idea is still arriving.

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