Verb Tenses
Thanks to all readers who have written me recently with compliments. It is very much appreciated…
And now to the post!
I would like to encourage you to develop a new habit of playing with your own spoken language if you don’t already.
Tweaking verb tenses is a good place to start. By changing tense we change time and therefore our own or somebody else’s subjective experience.
The past, present, and future each have their own distinctive energy, and will shift your experience accordingly. Speak the following sentences out loudly, in private if you must (ha, ha, ha). Notice how it shifts your subjective experience. My colorful choice of examples are written on purpose, so that it sticks! Yes, very sticky examples…
1. I spanked my lover’s ass. (past)
2. I spank my lover’s ass. (present)
3. I will spank my lover’s ass. (future)
Now the same thing can be done with the present participle “spanking” (who said grammar can’t be fun?):
4. I was spanking my lover’s ass. (past)
5. I am spanking my lover’s ass. (present)
6. I will be spanking my lover’s ass. (future)
And again with the perfect form:
7. I had spanked my lover’s ass. (past perfect)
8. I have spanked my lover’s ass. (present perfect)
9. I will have spanked my lover’s ass. (future perfect)
The past perfect tense gives a definite feeling of completion, perhaps having being completed further back in the past. It might also give the indication of being related to something else. For example, “I had spanked my lover’s ass back when I was sassy.”
The present perfect tense indicates an action which has been completed or perfected in the present or possibly starting starting in the past and ending in the present. To clarify, “I have just spanked my lover’s ass and now I’m ready for cake.”
The future perfect tense will of course indicate an action that will complete in the future. This may also indicate another additional action may occur after the first one is completed. For example, “I will have already spanked my lover’s ass before I begin my painting lesson.”
Now it’s time to really play with these. Do you remember how tag questions work? We can mix and match verb tenses by using them.
Let’s imagine you have a friend who is somewhat shy. You might say,
“You have felt shy, haven’t you?”
This puts the problem of being shy into the past. Without the tag question there it gives the impression your friend may still be shy. With the tag question it puts the feeling of “shy” into the past as a possibly one-off experience.
Using a present tense verb with a tag question which uses a past tense verb, can sound somewhat odd, but you’ll be amazed how few people pick up on it consciously.
“When you do that you feel shy, weren’t you?”
“You want to feel comfortable talking to people, didn’t you?”
You may have had trouble with verb tenses until you read the previous examples, but now you know how easy they are and how well you will be using them in the coming days, don’t you agree?
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admin :: Sep.10.2007 :: advanced language patterns :: No Comments »