Relative Nonfuture Tense

Understanding the Relative Nonfuture Tense

The relative nonfuture tense is a complex grammatical concept that describes an event or state that is not located in the future relative to a specific reference point. This reference point is often another event in the past or present.

Key Concepts

Unlike the absolute future tense, which points to a time after the moment of speaking, the relative nonfuture tense is anchored to another temporal marker. This allows for nuanced expression of causality and sequence.

Deep Dive: Formation and Usage

Consider the sentence: ‘He knew he would succeed.’ Here, ‘would succeed’ is in the relative nonfuture. It’s not a future event from the moment of speaking, but a future event from the past moment when he ‘knew’.

• It often involves modal verbs like ‘would’, ‘could’, or ‘should’.
• It’s frequently found in reported speech and conditional sentences.

Applications in Language

This tense is vital for:

• Expressing hypothetical situations in the past.
• Describing future plans from a past perspective.
• Indicating obligations or expectations that were relevant at a past time.

Challenges and Misconceptions

A common confusion arises because ‘would’ can also represent the past simple or habitual past. The context is key to distinguishing its relative nonfuture function.

It’s not about the absolute future, but the future relative to another past or present event.

FAQs

What is the difference between relative nonfuture and simple past? The simple past refers to an event completed before the present. The relative nonfuture refers to an event that was future from a past reference point.

Can ‘will’ be used in relative nonfuture? Generally, ‘will’ becomes ‘would’ when shifting from direct speech (‘He said, “I will succeed”‘) to reported speech (‘He said he would succeed‘).