Definition : An attribute of the verb system which is marked by the potential presence of morphological marking of the base verb
Example : play/plays vs played.
Tense is often seen as having the primary function of indicating time relationships, though this is misleading in many language, including English, where as Lewis points out, it is better seen as implying immediacy versus remoteness - which may be remoteness in time (He is here vs He was here), but also psychological immediacy or distance (I want to ask you something as opposed to Iwanted to ask you something...), or remoteness from reality (Imagine you were in the Tardis).
0 comments:
Post a Comment