Lets say that the now we all know ultrasound is no better than balloon procedure,
do we need to use 'was' in the phrase "to determine whether ultrasound was/is any better than .."
Thanks.
lunarpower wrote:if you're talking about GENERAL TRUTHS, then you use the present tense (regardless of the tense(s) in the surrounding context).mayank.hwr wrote:Hey Ron and Stacey ,
However one more Split Between WAS/IS in all the options is present and not addressed as such like other splits.
The complete sentence and first element is in the past tense but the second element of correct option takes a Present tense verb.
Kindly put forward a reasoning figuring out why the split is irrelevant..
the only exception is for things that WERE general truths, but are no longer. in that case, of course, you'd use the past tense. (or, for things that WILL BE general truths but aren't yet, you should use the future tense.)
e.g.
in 1628, william harvey discovered that human blood circulates through the arteries and veins.
CORRECT
"discovered" --> past tense (since this happened in 1628)
"circulates" --> present tense (since this is a GENERAL TRUTH)
in 1628, william harvey discovered that human blood circulated through the arteries and veins.
INCORRECT
this implies that blood doesn't circulate anymore in today's humans.
--
in this case, the principle in question (whether X is better than Y) is a general truth that isn't subject to a timeframe. therefore, it should be in the present tense.
