Grammatical tense refers to the conjugation of a verb to reflect its place in time—that is, when the action occurred.
There are technically only two grammatical tenses in English: the past and the present. Verbs in their basic form inherently describe the present time, and they can be conjugated into a unique form that describes the past. We can then use auxiliary verbs and verb participles to create different aspects of the past and present tenses, which describe if an action is or was continuous, or if it began at an earlier point in the past.
However, verbs do not have a specific conjugated form to reflect the future, and, for this reason, English is considered not to have a true future tense.
Nevertheless, although English has no future tense in the strict sense, we commonly refer to several structures that are used for future meaning as belonging to the “future tense.” The most common of these structures begin with will or be going to.
tense
stretched tight; high-strung: She is overly tense.; a category of verbal inflection
Not to be confused with:
tents – portable canvas shelters: The homeless are living in tents by the river.
tints – a color or variety of color; hue: Use pastel tints for the walls.
3. producing mental or emotional strain: a tense day.
4. (Phonetics & Phonology) (of a speech sound) pronounced with considerable muscular effort and having relatively precise accuracy of articulation and considerable duration: in English the vowel (iː) in 'beam' is tense. Compare lax4
vb
(often foll by up) to make or become tense
[C17: from Latin tensus taut, from tendere to stretch]
ˈtenselyadv
ˈtensenessn
tense
(tɛns)
n
(Grammar) grammar a category of the verb or verbal inflections, such as present, past, and future, that expresses the temporal relations between what is reported in a sentence and the time of its utterance
[C14: from Old French tens time, from Latin tempus]
present tense, present - a verb tense that expresses actions or states at the time of speaking
aorist - a verb tense in some languages (classical Greek and Sanskrit) expressing action (especially past action) without indicating its completion or continuation
past tense, past - a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the past
future tense, future - a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the future
tighten - become tight or tighter; "The rope tightened"
2.
tense - increase the tension on; "alternately relax and tense your calf muscle"; "tense the rope manually before tensing the spring"
alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"
3.
tense - become tense, nervous, or uneasy; "He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room"
change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election"
tense - in or of a state of physical or nervous tension
agitated - troubled emotionally and usually deeply; "agitated parents"
uneasy - lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance; "farmers were uneasy until rain finally came"; "uneasy about his health"; "gave an uneasy laugh"; "uneasy lies the head that wears the crown"; "an uneasy coalition government"; "an uneasy calm"; "an uneasy silence fell on the group"
relaxed - without strain or anxiety; "gave the impression of being quite relaxed"; "a relaxed and informal discussion"
2.
tense - pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in `beat')
phonetics - the branch of acoustics concerned with speech processes including its production and perception and acoustic analysis
lax - pronounced with muscles of the tongue and jaw relatively relaxed (e.g., the vowel sound in `bet')
3.
tense - taut or rigid; stretched tight; "tense piano strings"
tight - closely constrained or constricted or constricting; "tight skirts"; "he hated tight starched collars"; "fingers closed in a tight fist"; "a tight feeling in his chest"
lax - lacking in strength or firmness or resilience; "a lax rope"; "a limp handshake"
a form of a verb that shows the time of its action in relation to the time of speaking. a verb in the past/future/present tense. tyd صيغَة تَدُل على زَمان حُدوث الفِعْل глаголно време tempo čas die Zeitform tid; -tid χρόνοςtiempo ajavorm زمان aikamuoto temps מָתוּחַ क्रिया का काल glagolsko vrijeme igeidő kala tíð tempo 時制 시제 laikas (gramatikā) laiks kala tijdtid, tempusczas tempo timp время čas (slovesný) glagolski čas vreme tempus, tidsform กาล (เป็นรูปของกริยาแสดงเวลา) fiil zamanı, kip (動詞的)時態 час فعل کا زمانہ thời của động từ （动词的）时态
tense2
(tens) adjective
1. strained; nervous. The crowd was tense with excitement; a tense situation. gespanne مُتَوَتِّر، عَصَبي напрегнат tenso napjatý gespannt anspændt; spændt; nervøs που βρίσκεται σε υπερένταση, τεταμένοςtenso pinev نگران؛ عصبی jännittynyt crispé, tendu מָתוּחַ घबराया हुआ napet feszült tegang spenntur teso, ansioso 緊張した 긴장된 įtemptas, įsitempęs saspīlēts; sasprindzināts; nervozs cemas gespannenspent, nervøsnapiętytenso tensionat, încordat напряжённый napätý napet napet spänd ตึงเครียด gergin, sinirli 緊張的 напружений کشيدہ căng thẳng 紧张的
1. the state of being stretched, or the degree to which something is stretched. the tension of the rope. styfheid تَوَتُّر разтягане tensão (na)pnutí die Spannung spændthed έντασηtensión pingulolek کشش kireys tensionמתח तनाव nategnutost feszülés ketegangan strekking, spenna tensione 緊張 장력 įtampa, įtempimas nostiepšana; nospriegojums tegangan spanningstramming; spenthet; spenn naprężenie tensão tensiune натяжение napätie, napnutie napetost nategnutost spänning, sträckning ความตึง gerginlik, gerilim 拉緊 натяг, натягування پھيلاؤ sự căng 拉紧
2. mental strain; anxiety. She is suffering from nervous tension; the tensions of modern life. spanning توتُّر عَصَبي напрежение tensão napětí, tlak die Spannung anspændthed; angst υπερένταση, άγχος, ανησυχίαtensión pinge تنش؛ فشار روحی jännittyneisyys tensionמתח दबाव napetost, tjeskoba feszültség ketegangan saraf taugaspenna tensione 不安 긴장, 불안 įtampa, įtempimas spriedze; stress ketegangan; perasaan cemas overspanninganspenthet, spent forholdnapięcietensão (stare de) tensiune напряжение napätie napetost napetost anspänning ความเครียด tansiyon, gerginlik, endişe 緊張 напруженість بے چيني، ذہني تناؤ tình trạng căng thẳng 紧张
Indicative mood, present tense. First person singular, I do not care; second person singular, thou dost not care; third person singular, she does not care,' returned Tom.
HE was a young man, not more than twenty-four or five, and he might have sat his horse with the careless grace of his youth had he not been so catlike and tense. His black eyes roved everywhere, catching the movements of twigs and branches where small birds hopped, questing ever onward through the changing vistas of trees and brush, and returning always to the clumps of undergrowth on either side.
By three in the afternoon the strain of the piece-workers in the humid, heated room grew tense. Elderly women gasped and sighed; the color went out of the cheeks of the young women, their faces became drawn and dark circles formed under their eyes; but all held on with weary, unabated speed.
I have related it in the past tense, but the present would be the fitter form, for again and again the somber tragedy reenacts itself in my consciousness--over and over I lay the plan, I suffer the confirmation, I redress the wrong.
The relations among the men, strained and made tense by feuds, quarrels and grudges, were in a state of unstable equilibrium, and evil passions flared up in flame like prairie- grass.
The tense in the belief that "this occurred" is provided by the nature of the belief-feeling involved in memory; the word "this," as we have seen, has a vagueness which we have tried to describe.
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