where was the European Union in the COVID-19 crisis?

[GoodTaste]

I am surprised to see that the author uses the past tense "was" while the COVID-19 cirisi is ongoing. What is the purpose of using "was" rather than "is"? "Was" sounds that presently EU may be working. I am not sure.


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richard horton
@richardhorton1
·
7h
I am a passionate European and ardently pro-EU, but we must ask: where was the European Union in the COVID-19 crisis? Absolutely nowhere. How desperately sad. https://bit.ly/361tKUH

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I am surprised to see that the author uses the past tense "was" while the COVID-19 crisis is ongoing. What is the purpose of using "was" rather than "is"? "Was" makes it sound like the EU is working on it now. I am not sure.


===================
richard horton
@richardhorton1
·
7h
I am a passionate European and ardently pro-EU, but we must ask: where was the European Union in the COVID-19 crisis? Absolutely nowhere. How desperately sad. https://bit.ly/361tKUH

We can assume the writer is talking about the early weeks or months of the outbreak.

 

[GoesStation]

I agree with GT. The crisis is ongoing, so the present perfect is the logical tense. If the author was thinking only about the early weeks of the crisis, he should have said so.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I agree with GT. The crisis is ongoing, so the present perfect is the logical tense. If the author was thinking only about the early weeks of the crisis, he should have said so.

Could well be. Without seeing the whole article, I can't tell. So I gave Mr. Horton the benefit of the doubt.