Chapter XLIX: Verbs: Tense

=184.= Three very common words are _yesterday_, _to-day_, and _to-morrow_. The word _yesterday_ refers to time that has gone, or past time; _to-day_ refers to time that now is, or =present= time; and _to-morrow_ refers to time that is to come, or =future= time.

=185.= Every event takes place in time, and so when we tell of the occurrence of any event, we must have some way of making clear whether that event took place in the past, or is taking place in the present, or will take place in the future. Of course, we might tell this by adverbs or adverbial phrases, but we have a very much better way,—we tell it by the form of the verb we use. What time do we think of when we see the verbs _eats_, _works_, _plays_, _sleeps_? What time is told by the verbs _ate_, _worked_, _played_, _slept_? What change is made in the form of the two sets of verbs? What time is told by the verbs _will eat_, _will work_, _will play_, _will sleep_?

=186.= In the last group of verbs, where each verb consists of two words, it is the first word _will_ that denotes future time. Such a word is called a helping word, or =auxiliary= verb.

=187.= The change in the form of a verb to denote time is called =tense=.

=188.= Tense is a property of all verbs. It is evident that there must be three tenses,—present, past, and future, as shown in the three sets of verbs that have just been examined. These are called =primary= tenses.

There are three other tenses, called =secondary= tenses. We may say, “I _have eaten_ my supper,” “I _had eaten_ my supper,” “I _shall have eaten_ my supper.” These verbs call attention not so much to the time of the action as to the fact that it is completed, or perfected.

_Have eaten_ means that a past action is completed at the present time. This form is called the =present perfect= tense.

_Had eaten_ means that a past action was completed before some particular past time. This form is called the =past perfect= tense.

_Shall have eaten_ means that an action will be completed before some definite future time. This is called the =future perfect= tense.

=Summary.=—=Tense= is that property of a verb which denotes the time of an action or an event.

There are six tenses:—

(1) The =present tense= denotes that an action is taking place. It usually consists of one word, the simplest form of the verb.

(2) The =past tense= denotes that an action did take place. It usually consists of one word.

(3) The =future tense= denotes that an action will take place. It consists of two words, one of which is the auxiliary _shall_ or _will_.

(4) The =present perfect tense= denotes that a past action is now completed. It consists of two words, one of which is the auxiliary _have_ or _has_.

(5) The =past perfect tense= denotes that a past action was completed before a particular past time. It consists of two words, one of which is the auxiliary _had_.

(6) The =future perfect tense= denotes that a future action will be completed before a particular future time. It consists of three words, one of which is the auxiliary _have_, and another the auxiliary _shall_ or _will_.

NOTES.—1. The present tense is used also to denote (1) that
something is true at all times; as “Waste makes want,” and (2)
that something occurs habitually; as, “She teaches school.”

2. When a predicate consists of a series of verbs in the same
tense, the auxiliary is usually expressed only with the first
verb. In the sentence, “Now that he has eaten and slept, he
is ready for work,” the second verb is _has slept_, with the
auxiliary understood.

=189.= A common error is the use of the present perfect tense for the past tense. We say, “I _have been_ in Florida several times,” because we mean several times before now; but we say, “I _was_ in Florida last year,” because we mean that our being there occurred in past time with no reference whatever to the present. If we are still in Florida we may say, “I _have been_ in Florida a long time”; but if we are no longer in Florida we say, “I _was_ in Florida a long time.”

=Exercise 1.=—Justify the use of the past or the present perfect tense in each of these sentences:—

1. I learned the poem last evening.

2. I have learned the poem already.

3. I bought my hat at Stone’s.

4. I have bought a new spring hat.

5. I came home last Monday.

6. I have come to stay a week.

7. I tried my skates this afternoon.

8. I haven’t tried my new skates.

9. I have walked ever since sunrise.

10. I walked from sunrise until noon.

11. I spoke to the President this morning.

12. I have never spoken to the President.

13. I spoke to him twice when I was in Washington.

14. I have spoken to him several times.

=Exercise 2.=—Using the subject _I_, form the six tenses of the following verbs. Consult the dictionary for forms of which you are not sure.

break
bring
buy
come
drive
go
leave
love
run
see
sing
take
turn
wait

=Exercise 3.=—Select all the verbs in these sentences, and tell the tense of each:—

1. Trees wave, flowers bloom, and bright-winged birds flit from
palm to cedar.

2. The lynx turned to the right, along a well-worn trail,
ran up a tree, descended hastily, and glided away among the
thickets.

3. Tommy and I had played together till five o’clock that
Saturday afternoon.

4. The children thought, “how long the vacation will be!” but
the mother thought, “how soon it will have come and gone.”

5. He who knows nothing fears nothing.

6. The duck had never seen a guinea egg before in all her life.

7. The boy comes nearer to perpetual motion than anything else
in nature.

8. Nobody has yet discovered how many grasshoppers a turkey
will hold.

9. I have made no addition to my cabinet since we met.

10. The big black pots swinging from the cranes had bubbled and
gurgled and sent out puffs of appetizing steam.

11. “How many pieces shall I cut this pie into?” said she.

12. I have seen wild bees and butterflies feeding at a height
of 13,000 feet above the sea.

13. You shall go to bed, and I will remain with you a few days
until you get over this fever.

14. The daisies have shut up their sleepy red eyes.

Analyze sentences 2, 3, 6, 9, 14.