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In grammar, tense is a category that expresses time reference. Tenses are usually manifested by the use of specific forms of verbs, particularly in their conjugation patterns. The main tenses found in many languages include the ______, present, and future.
past
Some languages have only two distinct tenses, such as ______ and nonpast, or future and nonfuture.
past
Tenses generally express time relative to the moment of speaking. In some contexts, however, their meaning may be relativized to a point in the past or future which is established in the discourse (the moment being spoken about). This is called relative (as opposed to absolute) ______.
tense
Expressing tense is often closely connected with expressions of the category of ______; sometimes what are traditionally called tenses (in languages such as Latin) may in modern analysis be regarded as combinations of tense with aspect.
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In recent work Maria Bittner and Judith Tonhauser have described the different ways in which ______ languages nonetheless mark time.
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