The Historical Present
One of the most interesting points in the English language is "The Historical Present." It states that present tenses can be used to talk about the past. Present tenses are also used:
- to make the past seem less remote and to add some dramatization:
- e.g. So, yesterday I'm lying in my room, thinking about my late wife, when my friend shouted from the street!
- in order to make the future more definite:
- e.g. They are traveling to Dubai next Monday. The train leaves at 9 p.m.
- On August 11, 1947, President Bush tells his nation that the war in Israel comes to an end.
Okay, let's get into details now. If we focus on the last example listed above, 'tells' and 'comes' are in present tense. But the sentence concerns the event that happened long ago. Here the present tense makes the history more dramatic and interesting. Many people have a habit of telling the story in this way. I mean they use present tense when they should use past tense. In the other sentence above, 'yesterday, thinking, and shouts' are in present tense. The same idea applies to this sentence.
Bonus: What's the difference between "tired of" and "tired from"?
To show boredom or annoyance, we use "tired of" or "tired of doing sth."
For example, "Aleena is tired of my bad jokes."✓
On the other hand, "tired from" shows physical tiredness. When you are tired from something, you want to take a rest because of it.
For example, "Aleena was tired from the long journey." ✓
Note that it's considered incorrect to use "tired of" in this meaning:
For example,"She was tired of the long journey."✖️
Note that it's considered incorrect to use "tired of" in this meaning:
For example,
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