I don't know if it is legit to ask this. English is my second language and I always have this tenses questions on how to use present or past tense in the same sentence.


All properties were sold on 25th May, 2011, the selling price is $500,000.00.


For the first part of the sentence, because all properties were sold on 25th, we should use "were". But in the second part, should we use the selling price "was" or "is"? Is it grammatically correct to use "is" because the sold properties are still $500,000 today or should we use "was" because the price was in the past?

Mu own opinion.

We have two clauses in the sentence. 'All properties were sold' and 'the selling price is $500, 000'. The main clause in the sentence is the first clause and since the second clause is dependent on the first the verb should be influenced by the first. 'Were' is in past tense so 'is' should take its past form 'was'.
All properties were sold, the selling price was $500,000

Adeabbey59:

All properties were sold on 25th May, 2011, the selling price is $500,000.00.


For the first part of the sentence, because all properties were sold on 25th, we should use "were". But in the second part, should we use the selling price "was" or "is"? Is it grammatically correct to use "is" because the sold properties are still $500,000 today or should we use "was" because the price was in the past?

A verb must agree with its noun/pronoun.
"All properties were sold..." is correct because the noun "properties" is plural so the verb must be plural, also has to be in the past tense.
The verb "were" satisfies both conditions: plural and past tense.

Second clause:
"...the selling price is..." is wrong.
The tense has to be correct; the sale took place in the past so it (the verb) has to be in past tense.

You can use "is" if the sale hasn't taken place, eg when the properties have been costed. Then you can say: "The price of the properties is so-and-so"

Hope this helps.
Cheers.

obum88:
Mu own opinion.
We have two clauses in the sentence. 'All properties were sold' and 'the selling price is $500, 000'. The main clause in the sentence is the first clause and since the second clause is dependent on the first the verb should be influenced by the first. 'Were' is in past tense so 'is' should take its past form 'was'.
All properties were sold, the selling price was $500,000

Thanks bro. It can now be correctly written thus:

All properties were sold on 25th May, 2011, the selling price was $500,000.00.

I find it hard sometimes whether to use past tense or present tense in the case like that. U can kindly do me a favour of given more related examples. Thanks once again

Karmanaut:

A verb must agree with its noun/pronoun.
"All properties were sold..." is correct because the noun "properties" is plural so the verb must be plural, also has to be in the past tense.
The verb "were" satisfies both conditions: plural and past tense.
Second clause:
"...the selling price is..." is wrong.
The tense has to be correct; the sale took place in the past so it (the verb) has to be in past tense.
You can use "is" if the sale hasn't taken place, eg when the properties have been costed. Then you can say: "The price of the properties is so-and-so"
Hope this helps.
Cheers.

Thanks bro. It can now be correctly written thus:

All properties were sold on 25th May, 2011, the selling price was $500,000.00.

I find it hard sometimes whether to use past tense or present tense in the case like that. U can kindly do me a favour of given more related examples. Thanks once again

Adeabbey59:
Thanks bro. It can now be correctly written thus:

All properties were sold on 25th May, 2011, the selling price was $500,000.00.

I find it hard sometimes whether to use past tense or present tense in the case like that. U can kindly do me a favour of given more related examples. Thanks once again

Thanks bro. It can now be correctly written thus:

All properties were sold on 25th May, 2011, the selling price was $500,000.00.

I find it hard sometimes whether to use past tense or present tense in the case like that. U can kindly do me a favour of given more related examples. Thanks once again

Just search for the rules of concord on Google, there are lots of guides available online.

-Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the background of the concept.
Eg:
The dog GROWLS when he is angry.
The dogs GROWL when they are angry.

In English plural nouns take 's' while plural verbs don't take 's'.
Singular nouns do not have 's', but singular verbs do.
And as a verb and subject must agree (subject here refers to nouns and pronouns), a singular noun must take q singular verb, and vice versa.
In the example above, dog is singular noun, growls is singular verb; "dogs" is plural noun while "growl" is plural verb.

You can find more examples here

This is a link to a pdf file that will answer most of your questions: http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~flohaas/QuirkEtAl_755-71.pdf

Good luck!

Thnkz, really appreciate.