Cat desk Posted 9 years ago
Grammar
Who is/was the founder of...
Hi everyone, if someone asks me "Who is the founder of apple?" Should I reply in present tense or past tense?Like, "The founder of the apple is/was Steve jobs": 'Was' or 'is', which one should I use? As I know the person is not alive, I think I should use past tense. But the questioner asks the question in present tense, then what form should I use? I've also seen in exams that questions often comes in present tense in this kind of context despite knowing that The person about whom information is being sought is not alive? Can someone tell me the reason? If I ask someone 'who was the founder of Apple', will I be wrong?
Top answer
Since the founding is in the past, use past tense. The best question is: Who founded Apple?
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Since the founding is in the past, use past tense.
The best question is: Who founded Apple?
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