What is past tense?

Definition
	Past tense is an absolute tense that refers to a time before the moment of utterance.

Kinds
	Here are some kinds of past tense:
	What is hesternal past tense? What is hodiernal past tense? What is immediate past tense? What is nonrecent past tense? What is nonremote past tense? What is prehesternal past tense? What is prehodiernal past tense? What is a preterit? What is recent past tense? What is remote past tense?

Generic
	Past tense is a kind of
	What is absolute tense?

Sources
	Hartmann and Stork 1972 166
	Pei and Gaynor 1954 162
	Mish 1991 861

Context for this page:

Concept module: past tense
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): P
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

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