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Let's say I'm narrating a past incident in which a sentence goes like -- There was a rumor that Citibank is in debt.

Is the above sentence correct or do I need to replace 'is' with 'was' ?

herisson
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iamRR
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    You keep asking essentially the same question over and over and over and over and over again. Haven't we answered it enough times? – Peter Shor May 27 '15 at 17:17
  • @PeterShor -- Yes, you've answered many times but often I find that people while speaking use present tense more even if they are referring to something which happened many months back. Why ? Are they using incorrectly ? – iamRR May 27 '15 at 17:20
  • There's optional backshifting, and there's the narrative present, both of which cause use of the present tense when you might expect the past. This seems like a case of not using backshifting because the rumor is still around (or maybe because the speaker believes that Citibank is still likely to be in debt). – Peter Shor May 27 '15 at 17:22
  • @PeterShor -- What's this narrative present ? And let's say that Citibank is not in debt and there is no such rumor now, then in this case can one use 'is' ? – iamRR May 27 '15 at 17:29
  • In that case, I wouldn't use 'is'. The narrative present would be something like "This happened a year ago. There's a rumor that Citibank is in debt ..." where you switch to present tense for the entire duration (or most of it) of the story. It's common in speech, but much less common in writing. – Peter Shor May 27 '15 at 17:31
  • Then why do I often notice that present tense usage is more common among Indians rather than native English user in the sentences like above ? Are they wring in that case ? – iamRR May 27 '15 at 17:34
  • I'd guess it has to do with how the tenses work in Indian English,which I would bet comes from the fact that that's how they work in Hindi, Urdu, and related North Indian languages. You probably need a Hindi/Urdu speaker to clarify this more. – Peter Shor May 27 '15 at 17:36
  • So am I to understand that English grammar varies across country ? – iamRR May 27 '15 at 17:49
  • @PeterShor Would you say that the question was answered the first time, or is answered? – JeffSahol May 27 '15 at 19:04

2 Answers2

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I believe that both "is" and "was" would be correct but it seems to me that it would make more sense to use "is" in order to imply that the rumor is more current.

kirovairship
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In this instance, I would replace 'is' with 'was,' as this situation is occurring in the past.

Taylor
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    It's not that simple. E.g., There was a rumor (this morning) that... perfectly describes a continuing condition. – Canis Lupus May 27 '15 at 16:59
  • Hmm, I did wonder whether I was correct in saying what I did. Now, I do believe that I made a mistake. – Taylor May 27 '15 at 17:00
  • @CanisLupus -- Let's say someone is talking about an incident which happened a year ago, then in case can one use 'is' while speaking. I know 'was ' is correct in that case but many a time I notice that people while speaking use present tense rather than past tense. So the one who uses 'is', arey they using it incorrectly ? P.S. I notice this flaw mainly among Indians. – iamRR May 27 '15 at 18:50
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    "In this instance, I would replace 'is' with 'was,' as this situation is occurring in the past." Is this serious? – Edwin Ashworth May 27 '15 at 21:47
  • @EdwinAshworth Yes, I believe that it is. – Taylor May 27 '15 at 22:15
  • You're happy with the historical present ('this situation is occurring in the past'), but not with the present for general truths referenced in the past ('they believed that the Earth is flat')? – Edwin Ashworth May 27 '15 at 22:44