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"tense"

By Richard Nordquist, About.com

Definition:

The time of a verb's action or state of being, such as past, present, and future.

Etymology:

From Latin, "time"

Examples & Observations:

  • "We must set up a strong present tense against all rumors of wrath, past and to come."
    (Ralph Waldo Emerson)


  • "It is well known that the tense systems of French, English and German teem with logical inconsistencies as they are actually used."
    (Edward Sapir)


  • "Pardon me, I was using the subjunctive instead of the past tense. Yes, we’re away past tents. We’re living in bungalows now."
    (Groucho Marx as Captain Spaulding in Animal Crackers)


  • "All his plays take place in a kind of eternal present tense. He never relies on exposition. He never believes that the past is verifiable. Nothing exists until the actors step out on the stage."
    (Carey Perloff)


  • "Nothing is improbable until it moves into the past tense."
    (George Ade)


  • "I would say the biggest changes--it has caused me to get into the present tense, try not to go too far into the future, not too long into the past. When [the kids] are jumping on your stomach, making a trampoline out of you at six in the morning, that's fun for me. That's present tense."
    (Warren Beatty)

Pronunciation: tensAudio Link

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