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  1. The reason why I liked "The Office" is probably because of the writing.
  2. The reason why I liked "The Office" was probably because of the writing.

I'm not sure which one is correct. I still like "The Office", so should I say is instead of was?

"The reason", i.e., "the writing", still exists. It's not like the writing of the show ceased to exist. So, 1 might be correct, and 2 also seems correct.

My question:

  1. Which of 1 and 2 is correct?
  2. Did I use i.e. correctly?
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Both sentences (1 & 2) are correct.

In sentence 1, the verb in the main clause is in the present tense (is). So, the verb in the subordinate clause can be in any tense (liked). Therefore, the 1st sentence is correct.

In sentence 2, the verb in the main clause is in the past tense (was). So, the verb in subordinate clause must be in the past tense (liked). Therefore, the 2nd sentence is also correct.

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