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Glite Dictionary
📚 No verb tense 😌 No tension 🗣️ Lax pronunciation
tenselessness

tenselessness

9.9
Languages whose verbs do not show past, present or future time
  • noun
  • /ˈtɛnsləsnəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ausencia de tiempo verbal
  • Linguists study tenselessness in languages that do not mark verbs for past, present, or future.

Examples

  • The tenselessness of certain verb forms can make translation into English challenging.

  • Many languages exhibit tenselessness in their verb forms, which affects how time is expressed.

  • Some African languages are known for their tenselessness in expressing time.

  • The concept of tenselessness is often discussed in linguistics.

  • Many languages exhibit tenselessness in their verb forms.

  • Linguists study tenselessness in languages that do not mark verbs for past, present, or future.

  • The tenselessness of certain verb forms can make translation into English challenging.

How Complex

tense system
  • Specialized
3.7
tenselessness
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

tenselessness singular
tenselessnesses plural

Morphology

tenselessness = tenseless (semi-transparent) = tense + less + ness

Morphologically regular (tenseless + -ness), but the grammatical sense 'without tense' is a technical linguistic notion that may not be recoverable by average learners.

Etymology

Tenselessness starts with tense ('to stretch') and ends with -less ('without'), so it literally means 'without tense'. That explains the grammar sense: tenselessness is when verbs do not show past, present, or future, so the language has no tense markers.