Tense Tension

[VTwriter]

More frustration with tense. Which one of these sentences is correct?

Several weeks passed before he is found in a hotel suite

or

Several weeks passed before he was found in a hotel suite

 

[Maryn]

It's was.

Why? Because the other verb in the sentence, passed, is past tense, so you'd use was, which is past tense, too.

 

[Paul Lamb]

It's definitely the latter, though you could revise the former to "Several weeks pass before he is found in the hotel suite." Depends on context, I guess.

 

[Jazz Club]

Second one, for sure.

 

[Lea123]

Another vote for the second. The first mixes tenses and doesn't make sense, it would need to be 'several weeks pass before he is found in a hotel suite'.