The man who drove the car yesterday was/is my brother.

[sitifan]

1. The man who drove the car yesterday was my brother.
2. The man who drove the car yesterday is my brother.
Which of the above sentences is correct?

 

[Barque]

Both, in my opinion. I think it'd depend on what you want to stress.

 

[sitifan]

Which of the sentences below is correct?
3. The man driving the car yesterday was my brother.
4. The man driving the car yesterday is my brother.

 

[Barque]

Which of the sentences below is correct?
3. The man driving the car yesterday was my brother.
4. The man driving the car yesterday is my brother.

Only 3 is correct.

As far as your sentence 1 is concerned, the use of "was" doesn't necessarily mean your brother's now dead.

 

[sitifan]

Only 3 is correct.

As far as your sentence 1 is concerned, the use of "was" doesn't necessarily mean your brother's now dead.

2. The man who drove the car yesterday is my brother.
4. The man driving the car yesterday is my brother.
Why is it that 2 is correct but 4 is incorrect?

 

[Tarheel]

@sitifan If he is driving the car, isn't he doing it right this minute?

 

[sitifan]

@sitifan If he is driving the car, isn't he doing it right this minute?

[1] The person who {will write/will be writing/writes/is writing/wrote/was writing} reports is my colleague.
[1a] The person writing reports is my colleague.

The nonfinite clause writing reports in [1a] may be interpreted, according to the context, as equivalent to one of the more explicit versions in [1].

(Page 1263, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language)

 

[Barque]

4. The man driving the car yesterday is my brother.

However, if you included the omitted words "who was", I think I'd consider it correct. The man who was driving the car yesterday is my brother.

I'd stick to "was" instead of "is" in both examples.

 

[Tarheel]

(Page 1263, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language)

I have never read that book, which might explain why I don't know what a "nonfinite clause" is.

If I had to say that (pick one), I would probably use active voice. It would come much more natural to me.