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Alexg00t Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Language

I read this recently: "A past tense is a verb form that refers to the past. A pastime has nothing to do with grammar; it’s a hobby or activity."
I don't understand much the second part about 'pastime nothing to do with grammar' ... please do you have any ideas to share regarding this? Thanks in advance.
  

Top answer

It appears to be simply contrasting the meanings of "past tense" (which is a grammatical term) and "pastime" (which isn't). Without more context it is not clear why this is being done.

  • It appears to be simply contrasting the meanings of "past tense" (which is a grammatical term) and "pastime" (which isn't).
  • Without more context it is not clear why this is being done.
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5 Answers
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It appears to be simply contrasting the meanings of "past tense" (which is a grammatical term) and "pastime" (which isn't). Without more context it is not clear why this is being done.
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OK thanks for sharing I got the point that the first is a grammatical term but not the second.
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Alexg00tA past tense is a verb form that refers to the past. A pastime has nothing to do with grammar; it’s a hobby or activity."
It may just be punning: 'pastime' vs 'past time'. Or perhaps a facetious correction of a correspondent's spelling mistake.
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OK maybe. Thanks for the reply!
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I think the underlying idea is this.

The term 'past tense' relates to 'past time'. And 'past time' sounds the same as the word 'pastime'.

Clive

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