Past tense or present tense? When we describe something or tell a story which happened in the past, we need use past tense, but if something in this story still exist now, should we use past tense or present tense to describe it? For example, I want to tell a story which happened when I was a little girl. "The city we lived is/was very cold in winter." I am confused here---should I use " is" or "was"? Because the winter in that city is still very cold even now, and it has never changed, though the story happened in the past. Do you see my point? The climate, city ,or something has hardly changed in a few years. Even a person, like he was the boss when the story happened. But what if he is still the boss right now. I hope I make myself understood. Thank you!