was 用法

(A) 當人話 " your father is a good man."，這代表：
(1) your father 在他說話時 「仍然生存」 ；又或

(2) your father 「由此至終」is a good man.
[ Note : -
(i) This may be " from his point of view"；
(ii)在他說話時，your father 是「生存」，或「已離世」都可以，" a good man " 是他對 your father 的評價 -
your father 不會因已離世而再不是好人，對嗎？ ]

** * * * * * ** * * * * ** * * * * ** * *
(B) 當人話 " your father was a good man."，這則代表：
(1) your father 在他說話時 「已經離世」；又或

(2) 在他認識 your father至今，your father「曾經」是 a good man， 但現時已不再是「好人」了。
[ Note : -
(i) This may be again " from his point of view"；
(ii) 這句並沒有顯示 your father 在他說話時是「生存與否」，即兩者都講得通。 ]



2015-06-22 23:30:27 補充：
(C) 至於選擇那一個「意思」，就要靠電影故事的前文去決定。

( 若有甚麽疑問，不妨再問！ )

知足常樂 (知識長 )說得對
Your father was a good man. 單獨句子暗示已過身

your father「曾經」是 a good man， 但現時已不再是「好人」了
不客氣說
Your father used to be a good man, but now he is a loan shark, frequenting the illegal gambling dens.

2015-06-24 01:48:13 補充：
WAS 係過去式 linking verb
XX was a good man, 多數離世後的評價

不同下列句
When my father was a graduate student, he met my mother.

The eulogy for Princess Diana (1997):

“Diana WAS the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty. All over the world she WAS a symbol of selfless humanity, ...

was= died
is= still alive

請問有關英文動詞(was)的用途 ?
答案是(1)表達過去的時間; (2)凡寫傳記或自傳或小說的動詞多數都會用過去的時間;(3)凡是虛構或謙虛時所用的動詞多數是過去時間.

your father was a good man,只是說明以前是好人,但不一定現在仍是好人,而
your father is a good man. 只是說您的父親是好人,就妳像說您是一個人,人就就
是人,根本並不無時間之分。

另外一個情況，對於已過身的人，也會用 past tense，即 was。

例如
My grandfather was a doctor.

有WAS，即係過去式，即是曾經係，你老豆曾經是一個好人，最後點就唔知。