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Rinoceronte Posted 16 years ago
Linguistics Studies
Present Simple: A Deeper Look
There's no need in reminding how closely Language and Philosophy are interweaved. Sometimes the analysis of language elements brings you closer to understanding of the things, that you were not supposed to understand ever. For example, have you heard that Mesoamerican civilizations used to interpret time differently from us? A life as a momentum instead of linear, unstoppable and irreversible running of a clock hand towards the unknownness of death? Time and space interpreted as one whole thing? The Future which lives in the past, and the Past that awaits in future? Don't expect from me the prooves of all that right now, but language analysis can surely bring us a bit closer to apprehending those enormous things.
It's Present Simple. What does it mean? How would you depict this action on a timeline? What is present? How long is it? A friend of mine wrote an Argentinean poem about Past, Present and Future, which has this line?
"...y Presente: apenas lo nombro, desaparece en el tiempo...".
"...and Present: no sooner had you named it, it's lost in time..."
Present is a moment. "I speak English" is present. Hence, "I speak English" is a moment.
- What moment are you talking about? I speak English all my life!
- Your life is a moment...
God bless Mesoamericans!...
The fact that you speak English all your life means that you spoke it yesterday and that you will speak it tomorrow. From that you can conclude that Present Simple includes not only Present, but also Past and Future. Isn't it amazing?
It's Present Simple. What does it mean? How would you depict this action on a timeline? What is present? How long is it? A friend of mine wrote an Argentinean poem about Past, Present and Future, which has this line?
"...y Presente: apenas lo nombro, desaparece en el tiempo...".
"...and Present: no sooner had you named it, it's lost in time..."
Present is a moment. "I speak English" is present. Hence, "I speak English" is a moment.
- What moment are you talking about? I speak English all my life!
- Your life is a moment...
God bless Mesoamericans!...
The fact that you speak English all your life means that you spoke it yesterday and that you will speak it tomorrow. From that you can conclude that Present Simple includes not only Present, but also Past and Future. Isn't it amazing?
Top answer
Did we throw ourselves in philosophy, there would be no rules, no laws to systemize because the truth depends on the colour of the glass we look through. The time itself is not defined exactly.
- Did we throw ourselves in philosophy, there would be no rules, no laws to systemize because the truth depends on the colour of the glass we look through.
- The time itself is not defined exactly.
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2 Answers
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Did we throw ourselves in philosophy, there would be no rules, no laws to systemize because the truth depends on the colour of the glass we look through. The time itself is not defined exactly.
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FandorinDid we throw ourselves in philosophy, there would be no rules, no laws to systemize because the truth depends on the colour of the glass we look through. The time itself is not defined exactly.The point was not in defining the tense. It was in looking a bit deeper outside of what had already been defined. Just an additional angle to look at it from.
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