IS or WAS?

[English Maiden]

Hi, Sir!

I also have trouble with which verb tense to use when stating facts based on the past. For example, when I want to tell someone about the farthest place I've gone, should I say "Baguio WAS the farthest I've ever gone" or should I say "Baguio IS the farthest I've ever gone," since the statement remains true to this day? And when I tell someone of my first love, should I say "He WAS my first boyfriend" or "He IS my first boyfriend"? I am really confused. The same is true with universally known pieces of information. "Neil Armstrong WAS or IS the first man to land on the moon." "Jose Rizal WAS or IS the greatest Filipino hero." "Corazon Aquino IS or WAS the first woman president of the Philippines." Which tense should the auxiliary verbs in those sentences be in? Please enlighten me. Thanks load!

[Joe Carillo]

1. Use the present tense “is” when (a) the person is still living or the entity still exists, and (2) the condition or situation described still subsists or persists up to the present time.

2. Use the past tense “was” when (a) the person is no longer living or the entity no longer exists, and/or (b) the condition or situation described no longer subsists or persists.

Examples:
“Baguio is the farthest I’ve ever gone.”
(The place is still there and you’re still around.)

“India was the farthest Alexander the Great had gone in his eastward conquests.”
(India is still around but Alexander the Great is long gone.)

***

“He is my first boyfriend.”
(The guy is around and he’s your first boyfriend. For your relationship’s sake, though, don’t make that statement in his presence; he might construe it to mean that you are thinking of having some other boyfriends in the future.)

“He was my first boyfriend.” 
(The guy is still alive. He was your first boyfriend but no longer is.)

“He was my first boyfriend.” 
(The guy is dead, regardless of whether or not he died when he was still your boyfriend.)

***

“Neil Armstrong is the first man to land on the moon.”
(His being the first man to land on the moon is a record that will remain for posterity, and he is living.)

**

“Jose Rizal is the greatest Filipino hero.”
(He is no longer living, but his being the greatest hero is a prevailing perception.)

“Jose Rizal was an oculist by profession.”
(He is no longer living, and his being an oculist no longer subsists.)

***

“Corazon Aquino was the first woman president of the Philippines.”
(Although her being the first woman president of the Philippines will always remain true, she is no longer living.)

“Corazon Aquino is the first woman president of the Philippines.”
(This was a correct statement when she was still living.)

[English Maiden]

Thank you for your response, sir. What about the following statement? Does it correctly use the word "is"?

"Sputnik Sweetheart is the first book I have read by Murakami."

I think "is" should be changed to "was" since the reading is already a finished action in the past. I can't be sure, though. And also, should the modifying phrase "by Murakami" be transferred right after the word it modifies, which is book? Its being put at the end of the sentence seems awkward to me, especially in speech. I look forward to your answers. Thank you.

[Joe Carillo]

Yes, this sentence correctly uses the present tense “is”:

“Sputnik Sweetheart is the first book I have read by Murakami.”

The present tense is needed because what’s being described is a permanent continuing condition—Sputnik Sweetheart is and will always be the first book by Murakami read by that speaker.

That sentence has a defective syntax, though. The prepositional phrase “by Murakami” isn’t in the right place, giving the wrong sense that Murakami is the reader rather than the speaker.

To cure this grammatical defect, that sentence needs to be rewritten as follows:

“Sputnik Sweetheart is the first book by Murakami that I have read.”

In spoken form, of course, the relative pronoun “that” in that sentence can be dispensed with and the verb contracted, as follows:

“Sputnik Sweetheart is the first book by Murakami I’ve read.”

[boombb]

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