tense
Let an agent explain tense as a grammatical category, distinguish it from aspect, mood and time itself, relay how particular languages mark tense from descriptive grammars, and support learning, translation and analysis questions.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain tense as a grammatical category, distinguish it from aspect, mood and time itself, relay how particular languages mark tense from descriptive grammars, and support learning, translation and analysis questions.
A grammatical category that locates a situation in time relative to the moment of speaking or another reference point, typically past, present and future, marked on verbs by inflection or auxiliaries; languages differ in how many tenses they mark and how tense interacts with aspect and mood, and some languages mark no tense at all.
What it is for: Locating situations in time in grammar.
It can be explain tense and its relation to aspect and mood; describe the tense system of a language from grammars; analyse a verb form for tense; support learning and translation.
Distinguishing features
Grammatical, not merely semantic time
Relative to a reference point
Varies across languages, including absence
Bundled with aspect and mood in many systems
What it looks like
Not visible; seen in verb forms and auxiliaries.
How it is recognised
Verb marking that locates an event in time
Interacts with aspect and mood in tense-aspect-mood systems
Time as such and aspect are separate concepts
Related models
is a kind of - a category of the verb
is related to - often marked together
is related to - part of the tense-aspect-mood complex
is confused with - the concept tense encodes
In practice
Families and kinds
absolute tenses: past, present, future
relative tenses such as pluperfect and future perfect
remoteness distinctions such as hodiernal and remote past
tenseless systems that rely on aspect and adverbs
tense in specific languages such as English
Standards and regulation
No regulation; descriptive grammars and linguistic typology databases describe systems
Failure modes and hazards
Confusing tense with aspect or with time
Assuming all languages mark tense like English
Prescriptive rules presented as universal
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Concept What tense is.
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
- What is tense, and how does it relate to a reference point in time? definition
- Is the question about tense, aspect, mood or time itself? boundary
Systems
Tense systems.
Systems
Systems.
- What kinds of tense systems exist across languages, including tenseless ones? definition
- Which entry fits the specific language? action
Analyse Analysing forms.
Analysis.
Forms
Marking.
Forms
Forms.
- How is tense marked in a given language, by inflection, auxiliaries or particles? provenance
- Which grammar describes the system? provenance
Interaction
With aspect and mood.
Interaction
Interaction.
- How do tense, aspect and mood combine in the language, and how is a form analysed? action
- Which entry fits aspect? action
Use Learning and translation.
Use.
Learning
Learning.
Learning
Learning.
- How is tense taught to learners, and what errors are common? provenance
- Is the user asking for a correction of their own text, which needs the specific language entry? boundary
Translation
Translation.
Translation
Translation.
- How are tense differences handled in translation between languages? action
- Which entry fits translation? action
Study Theory and typology.
Study.
Theory
Theories of tense.
Theory
Theory.
- How do semantic theories model tense, with positions attributed? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Typology
Typology.
Typology
Typology.
- What does typology say about the distribution of tense systems? provenance
- Which databases document tense marking? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- Should tense systems of individual languages be separate entries?
- How should typological databases be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific language tenses; should they be split off?