[Grammar] It is/was a typo

[kadioguy]

Context:

(24-Aug-2019)
Member:
What is the difference in meaning between (a) and (b), and (c) and (d)?

(24-Aug-2019)
Teacher:
a) and b) mean the same thing to me.
c) and d), however, don't. d

(28-Aug-2019)
Member:
Is the red "d" a typo?

(28-Aug-2019)
Teacher:
It was a typo. Thanks. I've fixed it.
---------

A. Is the red "d" a typo?
B. Was the red "d" a typo?

C. It is a typo.
D. It was a typo.

Are (A), (B), (C), and (D) all acceptable? I think they are, because the typo still exists above - so (A) and (C) work (I know the teacher has fixed it in the his or her post), and the typo was made in the past - so (B) and (D) work.

Am I right in thinking these? Which ones of them would you prefer to use?

 

[abaka]

The "I've fixed it" means that the typo's gone, so "it was a typo" is correct.

If the typo had not yet been corrected, the teacher would say, "It's a typo. I'll fix it.".

 

[jutfrank]

The choice of tense used all depends on whether the typo is considered visibly present at the moment of writing. If so, the present tense is used; if not, the past tense is.

So, B is unlikely if the typo is still there on the page. The speaker is more likely to be thinking of the typo as it exists presently on the page rather than the past event of the error being made.

C is not possible if the speaker wishes to communicate the fact that he has since corrected the error. The use of the past tense is to make it clear that the error is no longer present. (It's possible that C could be used, however, if the typo still exists as a quote in a different post, since it would therefore still be visibly present to the readers.)

 

[emsr2d2]

Here's a link to the thread in question. It was my typo that caused all this.

 

[kadioguy]

Thank you all.

I was not going to give you a link, mainly because the latter part in post #1 (in context) was in the private message I sent to emsr2d2, so I was not sure if emsr2d2 would like to see his or her reply in private message appear on this thread - that's why I used "Member" and "Teacher" as names.

 

[kadioguy]

I was not going to give you a link, mainly because the latter part in post #1 (in context) was in the private message I sent to emsr2d2, so I was not sure if emsr2d2 would like to see his or her reply in private message appear on this thread - that's why I used "Member" and "Teacher" as names.

By the way, should I use "is" instead of the red "was" in this case? I say so, because that part still exists in the inbox of mine. I am wondering whether or not we should use the present tense if the event happened in the past yet still exists now.

Could you please tell me your opinion?

 

[GoesStation]

By the way, should I use "is" instead of the red "was" in this case? I say so, because that part still exists in the inbox of mine. I am wondering whether or not we should use the present tense if the event happened in the past yet still exists now.

Could you please tell me your opinion?

The past simple is more natural.

 

[kadioguy]

The past simple is more natural.

Could you tell my why?
Is this because the whole passage is in the past tense?

 

[jutfrank]

By the way, should I use "is" instead of the red "was" in this case? I say so, because that part still exists in the inbox of mine.

I would suggest this:

the latter part in post #1 is from the private message I sent

The present tense works better because, as I've said, what counts is that the text is present. It doesn't matter whether the original text (the PM) was written in the past, and it doesn't even matter that the PM still exists in your inbox. What matters is that you have copied the text in post #1, so it is presently visible to everyone reading it.