Is or Was Part II

[English Maiden]

Sir, which would be the right statement to make in each of the following situations:

1. I just got off the phone with a stranger...
A. That is the weirdest call I've had in a long time.
B. That was the weirdest call I've had in a long time.
C. That was the weirdest call I had in a long time.
D. That was the weirdest call I'd had in a long time.
2. I just finished watching a really good movie...
A. (*insert title of the movie) is the best movie I've seen in years!
B. * was the best movie I've seen in years!
C. * was the best movie I had seen in years.
D. * was the best movie I saw in years.

Sir, I would really appreciate if you could answer my question and provide an explanation as to why my examples are wrong or right. Thanks in advance!

[Joe Carillo]

The correct statements to make in the two situations you presented are as follows:

1. I just got off the phone with a stranger...
(B) “That was the weirdest call I’ve had in a long time.”

The statement in B combines a main clause in the past tense (“that was the weirdest call”) and a relative clause in the present perfect (“that I’ve had in a long time”). Keep in mind that the sentence “That was the weirdest call I’ve had in a long time” is an ellipted or streamlined form of the complex sentence “That was the weirdest call that I’ve had in a long time,” with the relative pronoun “that” dropped to make the statement more concise and easier to articulate. The past tense “was” is called for in the main clause because the call was completed right before the time of speaking, so is now a thing of the past, while the present perfect is called for in the relative clause because the action of the verb “have” in the sense of possession has continued from an unspecified time in the past up to the present time.

2. I just finished watching a really good movie...
(A) “The King’s Speech is the best movie I’ve seen in years!”

The statement in A combines a main clause in the present tense (“The King’s Speech is the best movie”) and a relative clause in the present perfect (“that I’ve seen in years!”). Keep in mind that the sentence “The King’s Speech is the best movie I’ve seen in years!” is an ellipted or streamlined form of the complex sentence “The King’s Speech is the best movie that I’ve seen in years!”, with the relative pronoun “that” dropped to make the statement more concise and easier to articulate. The present tense is called for in the main clause because the speaker’s perception that The King’s Speech is the best movie she has seen in years is being made at the time of speaking, while the present perfect is called for in the relative clause “that I’ve seen in years!” because the condition has subsisted from an unspecified time in the past up to the time of speaking.

[English Maiden]

Thank you again and again for answering my questions, sir. I'm afraid I have to ask a similar question yet again, though. I just had a recent discussion on FB with friends on the first Filipino gay words we've ever learned. While I was typing my comment, I struggled on whether to use is or was in my sentence "The first Filipino gay word I've learned, found cute, and started using often [is/was] "chorba." Anyway, I ended up using was in that sentence. Was I correct in choosing was or was I wrong? There's one too many was's in that last sentence, no? Also, I am not sure if my use of the past perfect was right or wrong. Would the simple past in such a sentence be more appropriate? I look forward to your reply! Thanks in advance!

[English Maiden]

Sorry, what I meant was present perfect, not past perfect.

[Joe Carillo]

Thank you again and again for answering my questions, sir. I'm afraid I have to ask a similar question yet again, though. I just had a recent discussion on FB with friends on the first Filipino gay words we've ever learned. While I was typing my comment, I struggled on whether to use is or was in my sentence "The first Filipino gay word I've learned, found cute, and started using often [is/was] "chorba." Anyway, I ended up using was in that sentence. Was I correct in choosing was or was I wrong? There's one too many was's in that last sentence, no? Also, I am not sure if my use of the past perfect was right or wrong. Would the simple past in such a sentence be more appropriate? I look forward to your reply! Thanks in advance!

Let's take a close look at the sentence you presented:

"The first Filipino gay word I've learned, found cute, and started using often [is/was] "chorba."

It's evident that you've inappropriately mixed tenses in that sentence. You used the present perfect as the blanket tense for the verbs "learn," "find," and "start" despite the fact that they have different times of consummation and duration. The act of learning ends or is consummated upon the acquisition of the knowledge being referred to; finding something is an action that's consummated upon the finding; and starting is an act that's consummated right after the starting action is done. Grammatically, therefore, these three actions shouldn't all be in the present perfect. Instead, they should be presented in different tenses: simple past for "learn," also simple past for "find," and present perfect continuing for "use" as operative verb (not "start"). The correct operative verb for the main clause ("The first Filipino gay word...[is, was] 'chorba'") will then be the present tense "is."

Here then would be the scrupulously correct construction of that sentence:

"The first Filipino gay word I learned is 'chorba.' I found it cute and have been using it often since then.

Note that the sentence has been split into two to indicate that the learning action is separate from the speaker's impression about the gay word and her continuing use of it, and that the adverbial phrase "since then" is supplied to clarify that the speaker have been using that gay word continuously since she simultaneously learned about it and found it cute. 

   

[English Maiden]

Thanks loads again and again, sir! Please allow me to ask another related question, though this one will most likely wear you out. Hehe. Everyone on Twitter today is talking about Madonna's halftime performance at the Super Bowl. Most tweets are written following these structures: "Madonna killed it! That WAS the most amazing halftime show in Super Bowl history." "Madonna's performance WAS the best halftime performance I'VE ever seen!" Now my question, sir, is this: Is the past tense WAS in the sentences I presented the correct verb to use? Should it be IS since I'm assuming that people's perception that Madonna's performance is the best of all time still subsists into the present time? Or should it really be was since the statements are made after the action took place, which is now a thing of the past? Please enlighten me again on this one. Thanks a lot in advance!

[Joe Carillo]

The correct tense for the main clause is the past tense "was" because the statement, which was made after the action took place, is now a thing of the past. However, that sentence needs the present perfect for the subordinate clause "(that) I've ever seen." This is because the perception that it was the best halftime performance the Twitter commentators have seen still subsists up to the time of speaking.