Sort of confused on when to use 'is' and 'was', 'are' and 'were' when translating a novel. Would appreciate if someone is able to help clear my doubts. For example here, 'In this era where immortals were revered, saints were emperors and evil spirits rampaged around the lands, the protag felt that the pressure on him was very big'. Should it be 'In this era where immortals are revered, saints are emperors' instead? or?
"Was is used in the first and third person singular past. It is used for statements of fact. Were is used in the second person singular and plural and first and third person plural. It is used in the subjunctive mood to indicate unreal or hypothetical statements. The words if and wish usually indicate the subjunctive mood." Taken from: https://writingexplained.org/was-vs-were-difference Edit: I suggest reading up the whole page its very informative.
just keep in mind what tense you are speaking about. Past tense, present? Long as you know that, you're good.
is = singular are = plural was = past tense singular were = past tense plural (Though I think there is an exception for 2nd person) To answer your question, is that past tense or not?
The cake is a lie. Singular present The cakes are a lie. Plural present The cake was a lie. Singular past The cakes were a lie. Plural past If the story is in third person(like almost all chinese novels are), generally you only use 'was' or 'were' unless it's in dialogue or thoughts-type dialgoue.
I am translating the novel in past tense. Currently, I mostly just put was and were when translating. But when translating the conversations, I do know when to use is, was, are and were. Things like singular, plural and etc confuse me honestly x.x
Were is past tense, so it means there are either no more immortals, saints and evil spirits, or they are no longer revered. Are is present tense. Is and was are just the singular version of are and were. Oh, and it would be the protag felt that the pressure on him is very big, because felt is already past tense. As such, you are saying in the past he felt present tense PS: in this era is fine, because it is the protag's era, and thus this era, not that era, no matter whether you choose to use were or are for the saints, etc.
I think just write was and were all the way is alright if you dont know.just find a editor later on who is willing to help lol
It goes like this if I'm not mistaken Present tense Singular (I.e. one person) I am You are He/she/it is Plural (I.e. several persons) They are We are You are Past tense Singular I was (usually) You were He/she/it was Plural They were We were You were
If you are writing the whole thing in past tense, you stay in past tense. But here's where it gets tricky right? Your example, is trying to convey that it is a current situation. However, when written in past tense it seems like it's not? Well, there are actually multiple kinds of past tense. http://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/past_tense.htm Here's a link that would explain it better than I could. And here's how I would edit it: It's a little wordy though. I hope this clears things up? This is basically how you write "present" things in past tense.
Ohhhhh.Still, quite a bit confusing but, the main point is so its ok to just use was and were except for conversations all the way since I am writing in past tense right? o.o