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Here is the sentence:

I don’t get how they arrange the place. You should go to the one I went to yesterday. It’s near your house.

However I am in the middle of confusion whether I should say "it’s near your house" or "it was near your house". Which one should I say and why? I think both are valid.

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  • The 'place' is presumably still near the person's home, so there is no reason to use the past tense.
    – Kate Bunting
    Jul 28, 2022 at 9:27

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You can use either the present or past tense. Both are perfectly acceptable and I don't even think I have a preference for either one:

It's near your house.

It was near your house.

There's a subtle difference in emphasis. With the present tense, there's more emphasis on your friend and where he lives. With the past tense, there's more emphasis on me and the trip I took yesterday to visit the place. But it's very subtle and the meaning is the same.

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  • So basically it depends on where I want to focus. Am I correct?
    – Uni123
    Jul 28, 2022 at 10:50
  • You emphasize where he lives when you use the present tense. You emphasize your trip to the place if you use the past tense. But, again, it's VERY subtle.
    – swmcdonnell
    Jul 29, 2022 at 21:00

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