I get asked about tenses in various languages A LOT. Often, the person asking is actually asking about aspect, but that’s a concept that nobody learns about in school (unless it’s an undergrad class in linguistics). I don’t get this. Knowing about aspect and how it differs from tense would make life easier for anyone even remotely interested in language.

So I made a quick video explaining why “Your textbooks lied to you about ‘tense’.”

In it, I discuss the distinction between tense and aspect; speaker, reference, and event time; imperfective and perfective aspects; the fact that not all languages have both; and tense/aspect syncretism. All with references to Star Trek, Black Dynamite, and the Tinder Swindler. Enjoy!