[langdev] Tenses, moods, aspects!

Hi, all,

I've heard of relative tenses, and I THINK I know what they are.

Let's see if I guessed this right....

Absolute tenses represent time with respect to the moment of the utterance.

Absolute past tense is before the MOU, present includes the MOU, and future
is after the MOU.

Relative tenses are represent time with respect to something other than the
MOU, say, the time specified in another clause.   So...

The man fell (absolute).   The bell rang (relative). =  The man fell after
the bell's ringing.

The man fell (absolute).   The bell rings (relative). = The man fell when
the bell's ringing.

The man fell (absolute).  The bell will ring (relative).  =  The man fell
before the bell's ringing.

Did I get it right?

Jim