Some more writing questions

Sikorsky
Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:21:09 +0000

For #2, yes. For #3, I’ve reread, and I want to change my answer.

“Has been” would say that the Belmont had the distinction of being one of the oldest thoroughbred races for a while, perhaps even intermittently, but does not have it any longer. “Was” would say that it used to be one of the oldest, but isn’t any more. Since the Belmont is still being run, and since it’s completely illogical that it could continue to exist but cease to be among the oldest races, the Belmont Stakes must still be (present tense) among the nation’s oldest races for thoroughbreds.

For #3, I read badly before, and I apologize. “Became” is correct. “Have become” does convey a sense that while the process of becoming is now complete, the standard-ness of Dixon’s music persists to the present day. But the sentence says that they were standard selections for musicians in the 1960s–over and done with. And if your choice is between “became” and “had become,” then the tense issue I mentioned above makes “became” clearly correct compared to “had become.”