In English
| Past reference time | Present reference time | Future reference time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event before reference time (anterior) | I had written | I have written | I will have written |
| Event at reference time (simultaneous) | I wrote | I write/am writing | I write/will write |
| Event after reference time (posterior) | I would write | I will write | I will write |
English can refer both to a reference time (past, present, or future) in which a situation takes place, and the time of a particular event relative to the reference time (before, at, or after).
Consider, for example, the following sentences:
- When I got home yesterday, John arrived and met me (past reference, simultaneous event).
- When I got home yesterday, John had already arrived (past reference, anterior event).
- When I got home yesterday, John called and said he would arrive soon (past reference, posterior event).
In a present frame of reference, the same sentences appear as follows:
- Whenever I get home, John arrives and meets me (present reference, simultaneous event).
- Whenever I get home, usually John has already arrived (present reference, anterior event).
- Whenever I get home, John usually calls and says he will arrive soon (present reference, posterior event).
The equivalent in a future frame of reference is as follows:
- When I get home tomorrow, John will arrive and meet me (future reference, simultaneous event).
- When I get home tomorrow, John will have already arrived (future reference, anterior event).
- When I get home tomorrow, John will probably call and say he will arrive soon (future reference, posterior event).
Read more about this topic: Relative And Absolute Tense
Famous quotes containing the word english:
“... in the nineteen-thirties ... the most casual reader of murder mysteries could infallibly detect the villain, as soon as there entered a character who had recently washed his neck and did not commit mayhem on the English language.”
—Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945)
“He that would the daughter win
Must with the mother first begin.”
—17th-century English proverb, collected in J. Ray, English Proverbs (1670)