Tenses and time Grammar > Verbs > Tenses and time Tenses refer to different forms of a verb or verb phrase. We use different tenses to talk or write about different times. For example, we usually use present tense verb forms to talk about states, events or actions that happen or are happening in the present time. We usually use past tense verb forms to talk about past time, to describe events, states or actions that have finished. We can also use past tense forms to refer to present time, for example, for reasons of politeness or indirectness ( I was wondering if you wanted a drink ) and present tense forms to refer to past time, for example, for dramatic effect.
n grammar , tense is a category that expresses time reference. [1] [2] Tenses are usually manifested by the use of specific forms of verbs , particularly in their conjugation patterns.
The main tenses found in many languages include the past , present , and future . Some languages have only two distinct tenses, such as past and nonpast , or future and nonfuture . There are also tenseless languages, like most of the Chinese languages , though they can possess a future and nonfuture system typical of Sino-Tibetan languages. [3] In recent work Maria Bittner and Judith Tonhauser have described the different ways in which tenseless languages nonetheless mark time. [4] [5] On the other hand, some languages make finer tense distinctions, such as remote vs recent past, or near vs remote future.
Expressions of tense are often closely connected with expressions of the category of aspect ; sometimes what are traditionally called tenses (in languages such as Latin ) may in modern analysis be regarded as combinations of tense with aspect. Verbs are also often conjugated for mood , and since in many cases the three categories are not manifested separately, some languages may be described in terms of a combined tense–aspect–mood (TAM) system.