Tense
noun
Form of a verb that tells you when the action happens.
The verb 'run' in past tense is 'ran'.
Often appears as...
- present tense
- past tense
Usage tips
Academic
adjective
Feeling nervous or worried.
He was very tense before the job interview.
Often appears as...
- tense situation
- tense atmosphere
verb
To make something tight or to become tight.
She tensed her muscles and lifted the heavy box.
Often appears as...
- tense up
- tense muscles
noun
Form of a verb that tells you when the action happens.
The verb 'run' in past tense is 'ran'.
Often appears as...
- present tense
- past tense
Usage tips
Academic
adjective
Feeling nervous or worried.
He was very tense before the job interview.
Often appears as...
- tense situation
- tense atmosphere
verb
To make something tight or to become tight.
She tensed her muscles and lifted the heavy box.
Often appears as...
- tense up
- tense muscles
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Time Reference
Helps indicate if the action is in the past, present, or future for clarity.
I walk (present tense), I walked (past tense), I will walk (future tense).
Pro Tip 2/3Narrative Cohesion
Using consistent tense creates a clear story timeline.
He opens the door, steps inside, and sits down (all present tense).
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Nuance
Some languages favour certain tenses, knowing this can aid understanding.
History is often narrated in present tense in Russian literature.
Pro Tip 1/3Time Reference
Helps indicate if the action is in the past, present, or future for clarity.
I walk (present tense), I walked (past tense), I will walk (future tense).
Pro Tip 2/3Narrative Cohesion
Using consistent tense creates a clear story timeline.
He opens the door, steps inside, and sits down (all present tense).
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Nuance
Some languages favour certain tenses, knowing this can aid understanding.
History is often narrated in present tense in Russian literature.
Pro Tip 1/3Time Reference
Helps indicate if the action is in the past, present, or future for clarity.
I walk (present tense), I walked (past tense), I will walk (future tense).
Pro Tip 2/3Narrative Cohesion
Using consistent tense creates a clear story timeline.
He opens the door, steps inside, and sits down (all present tense).
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Nuance
Some languages favour certain tenses, knowing this can aid understanding.
History is often narrated in present tense in Russian literature.
Compare with
anxiousapprehensiveedgynervousstraintauttightuneasyuptight
Never forget "Tense"
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Video examples
What's normal anxiety --...
tense muscles and struggle with concentrating. But they aren't getting treatment. There's a lot of issues with mental-health care in this country. Some people don't have insurance that would cover it. Some have been dismissed or minimized in the past, and don't think seeking help will do any good. Some worry about the stigma
Video examples
How to use rhetoric to...
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. In both cases, the speaker's present their audience with a possible future and try to enlist their help in avoiding or achieving it. But what makes for good deliberative rhetoric, besides the future tense?
Video examples
We don't "move on" from...
Because what it says is that Aaron's life and death and love are just moments that I can leave behind me -- and that I probably should. And when I talk about Aaron, I slip so easily into the present tense, and I've always thought that made me weird. And then I noticed that everybody does it.
Video examples
Everything you need to...
So tense is the struggle between creator and creature that the two have merged in our collective imagination. Before you read or reread the original text, there are several other things that are helpful to know about Frankenstein and how it came to assume its multiple meanings.
Video examples
New-born Amur Leopards PIPE...
with the mum but today we've got to pick them up and that's for a very good reason it's time for their vaccinations really important sort of health check but it's a little bit tense a little bit nervous because they've had such little contact with humans they're not
Video examples
In search of Toscanini’s...
and other people that they you know other other people touch those pants and in various ways and I really felt that I had to have them and it was important that I have them but I was sure I wouldn't get them in the bidding was fierce and it was really really tense
Video examples
Statue Trick PIPE Brain...
tense if so that's because your brain comes equipped with a primal fight-or-flight response to danger and it's rare that your brain can override it even at times when danger isn't really present like in this unique experiment we've designed to test
Video examples
What makes muscles grow?...
so your brain appeals to other muscles for help. You plant your feet, tighten your belly, and tense your back, generating enough force to yank it open. Your nervous system has just leveraged the resources you already have, other muscles,
Video examples
The physics of playing...
And lest you think that the physics of music is only useful for entertainment, consider this. Some physicists think that everything in the universe is created by the harmonic series of very tiny, very tense strings.
Video examples
Baby Albatross Encounter...
But I think it was one of the most tense moments of my life and as a director, also just one of
Video examples
What's normal anxiety --...
tense muscles and struggle with concentrating. But they aren't getting treatment. There's a lot of issues with mental-health care in this country. Some people don't have insurance that would cover it. Some have been dismissed or minimized in the past, and don't think seeking help will do any good. Some worry about the stigma
Video examples
How to use rhetoric to...
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. In both cases, the speaker's present their audience with a possible future and try to enlist their help in avoiding or achieving it. But what makes for good deliberative rhetoric, besides the future tense?
Video examples
We don't "move on" from...
Because what it says is that Aaron's life and death and love are just moments that I can leave behind me -- and that I probably should. And when I talk about Aaron, I slip so easily into the present tense, and I've always thought that made me weird. And then I noticed that everybody does it.
Video examples
Everything you need to...
So tense is the struggle between creator and creature that the two have merged in our collective imagination. Before you read or reread the original text, there are several other things that are helpful to know about Frankenstein and how it came to assume its multiple meanings.
Video examples
New-born Amur Leopards PIPE...
with the mum but today we've got to pick them up and that's for a very good reason it's time for their vaccinations really important sort of health check but it's a little bit tense a little bit nervous because they've had such little contact with humans they're not
Video examples
In search of Toscanini’s...
and other people that they you know other other people touch those pants and in various ways and I really felt that I had to have them and it was important that I have them but I was sure I wouldn't get them in the bidding was fierce and it was really really tense
Video examples
Statue Trick PIPE Brain...
tense if so that's because your brain comes equipped with a primal fight-or-flight response to danger and it's rare that your brain can override it even at times when danger isn't really present like in this unique experiment we've designed to test
Video examples
What makes muscles grow?...
so your brain appeals to other muscles for help. You plant your feet, tighten your belly, and tense your back, generating enough force to yank it open. Your nervous system has just leveraged the resources you already have, other muscles,
Video examples
The physics of playing...
And lest you think that the physics of music is only useful for entertainment, consider this. Some physicists think that everything in the universe is created by the harmonic series of very tiny, very tense strings.
Video examples
Baby Albatross Encounter...
But I think it was one of the most tense moments of my life and as a director, also just one of
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Pico Iyer
Indian Writer
Where you come from now is much less important than where you're going. More and more of us are rooted in the future or the present tense as much as in the past. And home, we know, is not just the place where you happen to be born. It's the place where you become yourself.
Quote examples
James Wan
Australian Producer
What I realized is that it doesn't matter how big or small your film is. The actual filmmaking process, the actual storytelling, it's still the same thing. It's still all about creating characters that you like and creating moments that get you excited or get you tense.
Quote examples
Stellan Skarsgard
Swedish Actor
I've got a lot of weaknesses. One of them is that I often get scared and tense when I'm working - and fear is one of the big threats to any good performance, because it closes you down and makes it harder for you to produce life in front of the camera.
Quote examples
Satoru Iwata
Japanese Businessman
Sometimes you are physically tired at night, but your brain is functioning too much to go to sleep. If you can have software that helps you understand how you can shift from such a tense situation to being more relaxed, then that would help.
Quote examples
William Friedkin
American Director
I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel pressed and tense almost every day of my life about something or other. And I think it's the one thing, as I look into people's eyes, that I think I share with almost everybody.
Quote examples
Jason Statham
British Actor
Musclemen grow on trees. They can tense their muscles and look good in a mirror. So what? I'm interested in practical strength that's going to help me run, jump, twist, punch.
Quote examples
Tricky
English Musician
Yes, well, on stage I'm a different person, very aggressive, very tense. That's not me because I'm humble and polite, unless someone is rude to me.
Quote examples
Tina Knowles
American Businesswoman
My 'Book of Prayer' is the most important thing I carry. If I'm tense about something or need to pray for protection for my kids, it always helps.
Quote examples
Stephen Amell
Canadian Actor
You have to relax when you're shooting an arrow. You can't be tense. And that just helps, in your day-to-day life.
Quote examples
Abi Morgan
Welsh Playwright
I am the most tense, annoying person in the world.
Quote examples
Pico Iyer
Indian Writer
Where you come from now is much less important than where you're going. More and more of us are rooted in the future or the present tense as much as in the past. And home, we know, is not just the place where you happen to be born. It's the place where you become yourself.
Quote examples
James Wan
Australian Producer
What I realized is that it doesn't matter how big or small your film is. The actual filmmaking process, the actual storytelling, it's still the same thing. It's still all about creating characters that you like and creating moments that get you excited or get you tense.
Quote examples
Stellan Skarsgard
Swedish Actor
I've got a lot of weaknesses. One of them is that I often get scared and tense when I'm working - and fear is one of the big threats to any good performance, because it closes you down and makes it harder for you to produce life in front of the camera.
Quote examples
Satoru Iwata
Japanese Businessman
Sometimes you are physically tired at night, but your brain is functioning too much to go to sleep. If you can have software that helps you understand how you can shift from such a tense situation to being more relaxed, then that would help.
Quote examples
William Friedkin
American Director
I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel pressed and tense almost every day of my life about something or other. And I think it's the one thing, as I look into people's eyes, that I think I share with almost everybody.
Quote examples
Jason Statham
British Actor
Musclemen grow on trees. They can tense their muscles and look good in a mirror. So what? I'm interested in practical strength that's going to help me run, jump, twist, punch.
Quote examples
Tricky
English Musician
Yes, well, on stage I'm a different person, very aggressive, very tense. That's not me because I'm humble and polite, unless someone is rude to me.
Quote examples
Tina Knowles
American Businesswoman
My 'Book of Prayer' is the most important thing I carry. If I'm tense about something or need to pray for protection for my kids, it always helps.
Quote examples
Stephen Amell
Canadian Actor
You have to relax when you're shooting an arrow. You can't be tense. And that just helps, in your day-to-day life.
Quote examples
Abi Morgan
Welsh Playwright
I am the most tense, annoying person in the world.
Example 1 of 10
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