Olympian
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2008
- Member Type
- Interested in Language
- Native Language
- Hindi
- Home Country
- India
- Current Location
- India
Hello,
The following paragraphs are from a news article about President Obama's current trip to India. President Obama arrived this afternoon in India and the news has appeared after his arrival.
My question is - why does it say 'Obama was set to speak ...'? Can the news article use 'is' instead of 'was' to mean the same thing?
If 'was' is correct, then later in the paragraph, it says 'the White House is intent on highlighting ...'. Should that also not be 'was'?
Thank you.
The following paragraphs are from a news article about President Obama's current trip to India. President Obama arrived this afternoon in India and the news has appeared after his arrival.
After a brief stop at his hotel, Obama was to pay his respects at a memorial to victims of the 2008 terror attacks here and visit a home where Mohandas Gandhi once lived before turning to the focus of his first day in India: U.S. jobs.
Obama was set to speak to American and Indian business leaders and was expected to announce trade and export deals worth billions to the U.S. In the wake of the Democrats' devastating midterm losses, attributed in part to the poor state of the U.S. economy, the White House is intent on highlighting concrete benefits to U.S. consumers from Obama's foray overseas.
Obama was set to speak to American and Indian business leaders and was expected to announce trade and export deals worth billions to the U.S. In the wake of the Democrats' devastating midterm losses, attributed in part to the poor state of the U.S. economy, the White House is intent on highlighting concrete benefits to U.S. consumers from Obama's foray overseas.
My question is - why does it say 'Obama was set to speak ...'? Can the news article use 'is' instead of 'was' to mean the same thing?
If 'was' is correct, then later in the paragraph, it says 'the White House is intent on highlighting ...'. Should that also not be 'was'?
Thank you.