Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sejpdw]

" It began with the smell of freshly baked bread. A supermarket with a sharp nose ofr business believed people were encouraged to spend more money if they smelled something pleasant. The idea was so successful that hundreds of other shops dis the same. The smells of engine oil and leather are used to sell new cars, while banks and hotels are filled with pleasant fragrances such as apple an lavender. Sports shops believe that customers spend more mondy if they can smell the scent of frshly mowed grass. "

In the second sentence, "people are encouraged" instead of "people were encouraged" is gramatically possible?

[nostril5]

No. This sentence needs Past Tense because it is talking about the first shop to use these scents to help sell products. Later in the paragraph, they are talking about all the shops that use scents now (present state), so Present Tenses are used.
Mike

[CP]

Well, if I may give a different view: I would say that you can put it into the present tense if you are saying that it is always true about people. Try this (and note two tense changes, were -> was and smelled -> smell):

"It began with the smell of freshly baked bread. A supermarket with a sharp nose for business believed that people are encouraged to spend more money if they smell something pleasant."
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