tense

tense (tempus, (verb)tid): a category of the verb phrase. Tense locates an action in time relative to the 'here and now' of the speaker. Only finite verbs can show tense. English has only two morphological tenses (i.e. tenses which have special forms rather than combinations of forms): present tense and past tense. Verbs in the present tense generally refer to 'now', while verbs in the past tense generally refer to 'before now'. (She lives in New York. vs. She lived in New York.) Alternatively the present tense can be seen as expressing directness or closeness in time and/or reality, while the past tense expresses distance: Since you are rich, you can buy that house. vs. If you were rich, you could buy that house. Both the present and the past tense can combine with the progressive and the perfective aspect.