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I would like to express that I created something, A, and A can do something. For example, I wrote a software, and this software can calculate 1+1=2.

Should I use "I wrote a software that calculates 1+1=2" or "I wrote a software that calculated 1+1=2".

If I want to express that the software can do the calculation, then it seems to me that the first expression is correct. Am I right?

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  • It depends. To get a good answer, you should explain what you already know about the topic. Otherwise people might assume that you know about the "timeless present", "sequence of tenses", etc. and use terms that you don't understand. Or they might explain those topics even though you already understand them, thus wasting everyone's time. Therefore, please include more information in your question; doing so will help everyone.
    – MarcInManhattan
    Commented Jan 12, 2023 at 4:27

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First, software isn't countable and doesn't take an article. So you either have to eliminate the article or change it to something countable, like software program.

I wrote a software program that calculates 1+1=2.

I wrote software that calculates 1+1=2.

Whether you use present or past tense depends on the context. Even though you already wrote the software, the software continues to calculate in the present, so present tense is probably most common.

But if you were describing a homework assignment that you completed in the past, for example, you might say:

I wrote a software program that calculated 1+1=2.

This implies that you wrote the software and it's done. You're not really using it anymore, so you're describing it as it existed in the past.

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