I just need help with deciding which sounds better: "Love comes with a class system, at least according to Norma." OR "Love came with a class system, at least according to Norma."
The first one in my opinion. Although,They both sound suitable. But I think that depends on what tense of writing this excerpt is from...
The first is better for a generalized assertion such as this. The latter would apply if Norma were referring to a particular love infection.
Those are two different tenses, and the way you're using it changes the meaning of the phrase. Line 1) If Norma claims that Love comes with a class system, it leads one to believe she's not necessarily asserting an opinion she holds based on priori knowledge. "Love comes..." meaning the future possibility of love comes attached with a class system. Line 2) If Norma claims that Love came with a class system, it leads one to believe she's discussing an opinion based off of past experiences. "Love came..." meaning the past observation of love, came with a class system. I could be wrong but to me if Norma's opinion is based on something that happened to her, her character would most likely say "came" if it's something her character witnessed in others, but didn't experience first hand - or simply is regurgitating someone else's thoughts, she would most likely use the word "comes".
I honestly think Comes sounds better, however I'm guessing she is saying that because of past experiences in which case Came is more correct in the sense that people will understand that it refers to the past and not the present.
This line is dependent upon which tense you are writing it. We need a little more of the excerpt to figure out which you are trying to say, in order to decipher which it is, came or comes. I do like how came sounds better though.
Also going with the first one. It's a generalisation that's being made here, and one which doesn't have a time limit on it (as far as I understand it.)