Correct use of "is" and "was"

Status
Not open for further replies.

Peter Chan

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Philippines
I am becoming confused in the use of “is” and “was”.

The sentence: “He was a police” expresses that he is not a police now.

Question 1.
In the sentence “Last summer, I met a man who is/was my father’s friend”.

Can I use “is“ is express the man is still my father’s friend, and use “was” to express that the man is no longer my father’s friend?

Question 2.
In the sentence: “When I was 18 years old, my father bought me a smart phone, it is/was a Samsung”.

Shall I use “is” because the phone is always a Samsung?

Whe I use "was" does it means that the phone has another brand name now?
 

White Hat

Banned
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Russian Federation
Current Location
Russian Federation
1) In some cases, you can use "used to": He used to be a policeman.

2) Last summer, I met a man who
is/was my father’s friend: If the person is still alive, we may use "is".
3) When I was 18 years old, my father bought me a smart phone; it is/was a Samsung: "was", since it was a long time ago.
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
Question 1.
In the sentence “Last summer, I met a man who is/was my father’s friend”.
"Last summer, I met a friend of my father/father's." This avoids having to choose.
As to the choice between 'father' and 'father's', both are used.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Note that we don't say "He is/was a police".

You can say:

He is/was a policeman.
He is/was a police officer.
She is/was a policewoman.
She is/was a police officer.
He is/was in the police.
She is/was in the police.
He/She is/was a member of the police force.
He/She is in the [name of constabulary].
 

Winwin2011

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
1) In some cases, you can use "used to": He used to be a policeman.

2) Last summer, I met a man who
is/was my father’s friend: If the person is still alive, we may use "is".
3) When I was 18 years old, my father bought me a smart phone; it is/was a Samsung: "was", since it was a long time ago.

If my father bought me a smart phone yesterday; it is/was a Samsung. Can "is or was" both be possible?

Thanks.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
If my father bought me a smart phone yesterday; it is/was a Samsung. Can "is or was" both be possible?

Thanks.

They're both possible and you'll hear both but for me, logically, only "is" makes sense. The phone is still a Samsung. It didn't change brand overnight.
 

Winwin2011

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
They're both possible and you'll hear both but for me, logically, only "is" makes sense. The phone is still a Samsung. It didn't change brand overnight.

Thanks ems.

Could you explain it to me why we can use "was" in the above context?
 
Last edited:

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
Could you explain it to me why we can use "was" in the above context?
You can say it was a Samsung because it was a Samsung. Even though it is still a Samsung, and probably has been a Samsung since a cheaper generic brand was relabelled as 'Samsung', when your father gave it to you (a past action), it was a Samsung.
 

Peter Chan

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Philippines
Note that we don't say "He is/was a police".

You can say:

He is/was a policeman.
He is/was a police officer.
She is/was a policewoman.
She is/was a police officer.
He is/was in the police.
She is/was in the police.
He/She is/was a member of the police force.
He/She is in the [name of constabulary].
Thank you for correcting my mistake.
Can I write " The police is coming" , when I refer to the "police force"?
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Thank you for correcting my mistake.
Can I write " The police is coming" , when I refer to the "police force"?

No - the police are coming. That police officer is coming this way.
 

Peter Chan

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Philippines
You can say it was a Samsung because it was a Samsung. Even though it is still a Samsung, and probably has been a Samsung since a cheaper generic brand was relabelled as 'Samsung', when your father gave it to you (a past action), it was a Samsung.
I am confused by your answer. Do you mean the phone had an original brand name, but it was relabelled as Samsung before or when my father gave it to me.
If this is what you meant, then the sentence should be "it was a XXXX phone" and not "it was a Samsung".
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
I am confused by your answer. Do you mean the phone had an original brand name, but it was relabelled as Samsung before or when my father gave it to me.
If this is what you meant, then the sentence should be "it was a XXXX phone" and not "it was a Samsung".
It is common practice for the absolute cheapest parts and labour to be combined to form a commercial good, and then whoever eventually
gets to retail it puts their label on it. Yes, I'm saying that it was not necessarily born and bred in a Samsung factory. Prior to being a Samsung, it would not have a brand label, so I didn't necessarily mean relabelling - although that occurs too.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top