Comments on: 7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 89)

By: Kathy

Kathy — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 05:05:02 +0000

I'm not the first to say it, but I have to say that #7 made me laugh until I cried.

By: eulogos

eulogos — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:29:53 +0000

I think is conveys the immediacy of the moment better.
And I think it is correct.
Susan Peterson

By: Patrick O'Hannigan

Patrick O'Hannigan — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:36:39 +0000

I'd go with "sky was blue" in your example, because although the sky is blue, saying to in present tense yanks the reader from the timeline of the story, and you don't want to do that. Sky was blue in the story, sky is blue outside as I read that story, but the two worlds must meet gently.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:09:34 +0000

Kel --

I think what your gut feeling demonstrates is that language is a dynamic thing, which cannot be arbitrarily pushed into various rules by the grammar police and others. The right usage is the usage which accurately conveys the intended understanding to the other person, that which "communicates," i.e. creates communion, that is, union with, the other.

If one were to use "was," everyone would understand its meaning despite using a past tense for a present comprehension. That's good enough for me.

By: Kel

Kel — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:35:26 +0000

I actually disagree with a lot of the comments about the grammar question (although I'm a linguist, not a grammarian, so take this with a grain of salt). I think that the statement functions like reported speech, which is why "was" seems far more natural to me. Here's an example of reported speech:

"The sky is blue," he said. ------------->
He said that the sky WAS blue.

So what it feels like to me is:

The sky is blue------->
He realized that the sky was blue. ---->
He realized for the first time that the sky was blue.

It's a universal truth, which means that it's ALWAYS true. So it's true in his past (was) as well in his present (is) but by choosing the past we can show that it's continuous nonetheless.

By: G

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:50:56 +0000

#7: Thanks for giving my first good laugh of this day! I'm glad I'm not famous

By: Maia

Maia — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 10:38:47 +0000

Seriously, can we have shirts made that say, "I survived Mass." They can be plain white — because, really, the message will be that much stronger if they are "decorated" in baby urp, juice, milk, the chocolate-you-tried-to-sneak-to-your-Toddler-to-keep-him-quiet-which-he-then-smeared-all-over-blowing-your-cover, and the faint aroma of dirty diaper…

By: Margaret

Margaret — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 05:29:59 +0000

Was–it's sort of indirect speech so it should be past. I love these little blurbs; they are fun to read!

By: Summer

Summer — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 05:28:32 +0000

#7
Oh, I had one of those strange blog moments at Mass last week too. This time I was the one asking if a mom with a new baby had a blog. Yes, she did and yes, I had read about her family.
My husband commented that blogs and the internet are strange things. Before blogs, knowing that much about a complete stranger would be creepy. Maybe, it still is a little.
It made me think.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 05:23:56 +0000

Goggle "realized for the first time" and see the results. At least for the first few pages (I didn't look further), most of the writers use "was" or "were" or some other past tense word.