Was or Is?
Okay, so I am having a bit of confusion on what to say, even though I am a native English speaker.
How would you describe a person (gone/deceased/dead/etc.)? Would you say:
Jack is out and gone.
Or:
Jack was out and gone.
Thank you!
7 Answers
How would you describe a person (gone/deceased/dead/etc.)? Would you say:
Jack is out and gone.
—Or—
Jack was out and gone.
I can't say that I am altogether familiar with the expression "out and gone," but I have seen "dead and gone" or just "gone." In any case, choice of tense probably depends on what perspective you wish to use to narrate the event. Either should work, and choice of one or the other just depends on context:
Example 1:
?I couldn't bear to look Ralph in the face when I told him that his father was dead/gone/dead and gone/out and gone.
?I could hardly muster the courage to look him in the face, but I knew what I had to do. "Ralph, your father is dead/gone/dead and gone/out and gone," I told him.
Example 2:
?I didn't know that Ralph's father was dead/gone/dead and gone/out and gone. That explains why he has been acting so strange lately.
?Are you telling me that Ralph's father is dead/gone/dead and gone/out and gone. I didn't know that, but it certainly explains his behavior for the last couple of days.
out and gone.
Is this an expression for "dead"? I haven't heard this before.
Anyway, if that's the case, you should you is. Was would imply he came back to life.
Similarly, we don't say...
He was dead. (unless he was a medical miracle saved by Marshall-Hendrix 
)
We say...
He is dead.
even though I am a native English speaker.
Also, if you are native English speaker, please make sure your language information in your profile matches this information.
Anyway, if that's the case, you should you is. Was would imply he came back to life.
That would only be the implication if it were used in a direct quote. How ever, the distinction you make might be interesting.
There are two basic possibilities (in this context): What was actually said was "He is dead" or "He was dead." The latter would suggest the unlikely situation (as you pointed out) that he is no longer dead. In spoken English the word "was" would be the most stressed word in the sentence. In written English the "was" it would normally be written in italics (or boldface [as I have done]) to indicate the unusual stress.
It the whole sentence is expressed using indirect discourse (not a direct quotation) then the first possibility becomes "I said that he was dead." and the second "I said that he had been dead." The main verb being in the past tense requires that the subordinate verb (the one used in the indirect quotation) also be in some past tense.
Thus "was", in and of itself, does not imply resurrection. One needs to know the rest of the sentence (and it helps when correct punctuation is used).
It is new to me too .
I've never heard of this expression before. Where are you from?
I've never heard this either. Jack is dead and gone. Está muerto y ya no vuelve / regresa. Can't think of a better way to say it.
Estar muerto.
