SECONDARY MEANINGS OF THE PRESENT TENSE: REFERENCE TO PAST EVENTS
The Present can be used to refer to past events in certain limited ways.
In newspaper headlines and captions to photographs
Thousands flee persecution.
Demonstrators clash with armed police as violence increases.
In relating incidents in informal, casual speech: the historic present and the quotative
He was only an average athlete, and then suddenly he wins two Olympic medals.
I had just left the bank when this guy comes up to me and asks for money.
The Present tense in headlines and the sudden switch from Past to Present in speech have the effect of dramatizing the event, bringing it before the reader’s eyes as if it were an instance of the instantaneous Present. However, the headline stands apart from the text, while the ‘historic present’ switch occurs within the discourse at a key point in the narrative, and is frequently paralleled by a switch to a proximal demonstrative (this), as in the example: this guy comes up.
Go and be like are used by young speakers talking among themselves, as quotative verbs like say, to introduce direct speech as in: ‘and she goes “What’s he like?” and I’m like “Gorgeous”.’ They usually occur in the Present tense. These verbs are not used in this way by all speakers.
In reporting information
With verbs of communicating (say, tell) and of perception (see, hear, understand) the use of the Present implies that the reported information is still valid, even though the communicative process took place in the past. With a Past tense, the validity is not implied:
The weather forecast says that rain is on the way.
I understand you would like to move to London.
In subordinate clauses of time and condition
The present tense is usual in open conditions and in clauses introduced by when, as soon as, the minute etc., with a potential (irrealis) meaning, where certain languages require a subjunctive as in: Text me when you get here.
The following short extract illustrates the basic meanings of the Present tense in contrast to that of the past tense. This extract is taken from The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA):450 million words, 1990–present. Available online at http:// corpus.byu.edu/coca (Davies 2008–).
Yes, it’s the journey that counts. But every trip is better with fast, delicious food like this. Around day four of any backpacking trip, the thought of another freezedried pasta dish sounds as appealing as a few fresh blisters. Which is why, after a ten-mile hike along a dusty dirt road in Chile that followed a 5,000-plus-foot descent at the end of our volcano trek – we were thrilled to have saved this curry dish for the end. The smell of coconut milk and curry alone was enough to give us a lift. Then the texture of the al dente couscous woke up tired taste buds. And the combination of chicken (not tough and chewy) and peas (not mushy) in the coconut-curry sauce caused camp chaos: Was there enough to go round? And could we make another batch fast? Thankfully the make lives up to its name. [COCA: MAG]
