The verb tense allows us to represent the chronological order of the events that are told according to the moment of the narration.
With etymological origin in the Latin word tempus , time is a term with several uses. In this case, we are interested in its meaning as the paradigm that is applied in the conjugation of a verb according to the temporal category .
Verbal , meanwhile, is a concept from the late Latin verbālis that refers to that linked to a word or, specifically, to the verb . Verbs, in turn, are words that vary in number, person, aspect, mood and tense.
The idea of verbal tense , in short, refers to one of the parameters used to conjugate a verb, which allows the expression of a linguistic difference to be captured . To understand the notion, however, several concepts must be analyzed.
What is a verb tense
As we already indicated, verbs have elements that are modified according to different issues. The adaptation of the verb to its various forms depending on the context is known as conjugation .
The verb tense, in this framework, represents the chronological order of the events narrated in a speech . It is a linguistic reference that contributes to the organization of the message.
It must be taken into account that verbal tense is not the physical time measured by the clock or that appears on a calendar. This is a factor that is linked to the speaker's situation, reflecting the here and now of the communicative moment.
It is important to consider that the verb tense depends on each language . You can differentiate between relative time and absolute time , for example.
The verb tense is established according to the moment of the communicative act.
Some examples
The same verb (that is, the same action ) is conjugated in different ways depending on the verb tense. Broadly speaking, a distinction is made between the past, the present and the future, which implies that the action has already been done, is being done or will be done. On the other hand, conjugation depends on the grammatical mood and the person.
Take the case of the verb play . If the first person singular ( I ) is expressed, it can indicate: “Yesterday I played soccer” (the action is already over) / “I'm playing soccer, I'll call you later” (the action takes place at the moment of utterance) / “Tomorrow I will play football” (the action has not yet taken place). In addition, there are other possibilities, such as “I have been playing soccer,” “I had played soccer,” “I have played soccer,” etc.
Let's now look at the verb eat . Considering the third person plural ( they ), we can notice verb tenses that generate conjugations such as “They ate three pizzas,” “Do they always eat that much?” , “The boys will eat hamburgers and we will eat pasta” , “I think they have already eaten too much” and “By then, they will have eaten several kilograms of meat” , to name a few possibilities .
The expression of verb tense
Although it may seem like an accurate reproduction of reality , the verb tense always reflects what the speaker perceives. Or, put another way, it expresses the moment of its act of communication.
Specifically, the verb tense is defined according to how or where the sender places the event in relation to his message . You can place it before the communicative act, at the same moment or as it has not yet happened, also considering various nuances in each case.