is or was?

jack   Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:22 am GMT
it "is" too strange that he was n't there yesterday
it "was" too strange that he was n't there yesterday


which one is right & why ?!
Guest   Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:55 am GMT
It "is" strange if you're still wondering why he wasn't there yesterday.

It "was" strange that he wasn't there yesterday because it made you feel awkward...

So both are right depending on what you want to convey.
Russconha   Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:01 am GMT
'It is strange . . . .' means that up to this moment, it is still strange.

'It was strange . . . .' means that at the time it was strange, but maybe not anymore.
jack   Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:55 am GMT
in fact , these are 2 items of a test , and we do n\'t have any information about situation !

so which one do you think is preferable ?!
Russconha   Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:46 am GMT
It depends on the context. Both are correct and can be used but I would guess that 'It was' is the correct answer as 'yesterday' indicates past tense.

My guess is that the examiner is not a native speaker and sticks to grammar like a fly to うんこ