Question Should I use is or was?

Sort of confused about this part. I was told that I should always translate in past tense, but there are some parts which made me think if I should use 'is' or 'was'

Example 1: Is it "Tan En was the patriarch" or "Tan En is the patriarch".
In this context, Tan En was still alive and the current patriarch in the novel.

Example 2: Is it "Holy City was the most prestigious city in the entire continent" or "Holy City is the most prestigious city in the entire continent".
In this context, Holy City was still currently the most prestigious city in the entire continent.

 

I am not an expert, but if living or alive you have to use "is".

 

"Tan En was(past) the patriarch" "Tan En is(present) the patriarch"

 

how is that confusing?both are "is", since both actualy exist/alive and the status didn't change....

 

the two sentences would be placed as present. The context portrays the two as the current reigning entities so it would be wise to use "is" as opposed to the nature of the sentence (past tense)

 

You should really read the meaning of present, future and past tense again.
Present = still on going
Future = will happen later on
Past = already done

Both example should be is. Also your own message about the example is contradicting.
Youre using was for past tense while using still which looks like a present tense.
It should be Tan En "is" still the patriach etc.

 

It depends on the narrative tone (whether 1st, 2nd, 3rd person and whether its present tense or past tense or some mix) for the story or text and whether or not what is being used is in speech or not.

Really you'd need to provide the actual text/line you're having trouble with and the lines before and after it.

 

Is the rest of the novel in past tense? If so, use was to retain consistency. Was can be used to describe present circumstances too, under certain narrative conditions like this.

 

I.... think it's all on past tense?

"Something'er, being the gifted son of Lolidk, had unparalleled skills all throughout the lands. Although he was only 16 years old, he was able to join the Red Typhoon corps which was the strongest corps in the entire imperial army."

Sounds a bit weird on its own but it fits well when with the others.

 

I get what you're talking about, use "was".
Because if you use past tense for everything and suddenly revert to the present it just sounds awfully awkward.

 

'was' is past tense and 'is' current tense. If you are talking about the past or it is set in the past, you would use 'was'. If you are talking about the current time line, then 'is' would be the word used.
If the reader does not know that it is taking place in the past, you should use 'is', if they do know it is set in the past then 'was' would be correct.

 

Maybe this would help.

 

I'm no grammar expert, but as far as i know, if the context you mentioned is in description and you've been using past tense to describe your story the whole time, then the correct answer is to use "was". Why? Because you've been placing yourself as a narrator who's re-telling a story from the past (meaning those events had already happened).

But if they are mentioned in conversation, example: "Oh who is X?"
"She is the leader of Guild Z."
Then, using "is" will be correct.

 

Okay, for example 1: "In the Holy Sect, Tan En was the patriarch and his judgement was mattered the most" or "In the Holy Sect, Tan En is the patriarch and his judgement is mattered the most"

 

Just to clarify, I do understand how to use present tense and past tense in everyday life. It's just that I remember seeing some posts saying that, you either write everything in past tense, or in present tense.
I am currently writing the story in past tense and was thinking to just write everything in past tense(except for dialogues). But there were some parts that I felt weird to use past tense when translating.

 

Yeah, that is how I am currently translating. But just want to post and see what are other's opinion.

 

Unless that's speech it should be 'was', also the second 'is/was' shouldn't be there. In the Holy Sect, Tan En was the Patriarch and his judgment mattered the most. Like what this guy said modified slightly to be specific in his example:

 

Now he is not.

He still is.

When describing events use past tense, but as others have pointed out, it depends.
You didn't give us much of an example to work with.
Depending on the situation, you could use either was, or is.

Example:
"Tan En was the patriarch after all. Such foolishness couldn't get by unpunished."

This can be interpreted only in one way, unlike your example. Tan En still is the patriarch, but I'm using "was".

Now it's not.

It still is.

In conclusion,
The examples you're giving translate to that, but it depends on the context.

 

A novel, or any other piece of fiction, is telling a story. In essence, it's talking about events that have already happened so they're almost always in past tense. If you're writing your own story, it's best to stick to that past tense unless you really know what you're doing, and the same goes for translating. Even if the original novel was written in the present tense (or even future tense), a novice translator should probably still stick to past tense for anything other than dialogue.

You will want to use "was" for both of these. "Was" does mean "in the past", but it doesn't really have the connotation of "is no longer". For example, I can use the sentence, "In 1900, New York City was the largest city in the US". This sentence is perfectly fine whether or not New York City is currently the largest city in the US
because what it does is try to capture a specific moment in time. The examples you're talking about do exactly the same thing, just without mentioning the actual time. In the case where the past tense is confusing, you can use the construction "was already" instead, but this shouldn't be necessary for translations since the original should already account for this.