Talking about general truths but within a context that uses past tense

Question

Pikachu strolled along the street blissfully unaware that the Earth is
  round.

or

Pikachu strolled along the street blissfully unaware that the Earth was
  round.

What is the rule/preference for such cases when we talk about general truths but within a context that uses the past tense?

Hugh · Accepted Answer

"unaware" has no tense.  It adopts the past tense of "strolled." See what happens in the present continuous tense:

Pikachu is strolling along the street blissfully unaware that the
  Earth is round.

When the verbal phrase is in the past tense, the reported thought becomes past.

Pikachu strolled along the street blissfully unaware that the Earth
  was round.

Tenses in indirect speech are explained here  [BBC]

Anton · Answer

As a rough guide, I think your first applies best when the general truth still applies. I would therefore prefer your first. The second applies best when the once-general truth is no longer true. For example - he walked into Stalingrad, unaware that the city was in ruins. (I have altered my own "was destroyed" to chasly's rather nicer version "in ruins".)

Answered by Anton on July 21, 2021

chasly - supports Monica · Answer

I prefer "was round".

Reasoning

Pikachu was under a misapprehension. He thought the Earth was flat.

We can't say, "Pikachu thought the Earth is flat" because it isn't. Therefore we aren't describing a general truth. We have to say, "Pikachu thought the Earth was flat."

In order to match tenses we say, "Pikachu  was unaware that the Earth was round."

Talking about general truths but within a context that uses past tense

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