# Why Do We Use Present Tense to Describe Bad Things That Happened in the Past **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566 "2012-10-12T21:54:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/1 "2012-10-12T21:54:48Z")
So I’m standing here and this guy walks up and I say, “Hey! I’m standing here.” But he keeps walking and steps right on my foot… I frequently hear people in an irritable humour speak in past tense when complaining about something that happened to them in the past. Seems to be especially when they feel that someone has harmed them. They even seem to take on, for want of a more precise expression, a working-class New York accent. Why do we do this? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/2 "2012-10-12T23:49:44Z")
Dramatic immediacy? It makes it sound like it’s happening right now. It works…sometimes…in fiction, because it (slightly) reduces your sense of security. If you say, “Han Solo faced down Greedo, blaster to blaster,” well, it’s past. It’s done. We’re secure that Solo lives. But “Han Solo faces down Greedo, blaster to blaster.” We don’t know how it ends; we can feel more of a vicarious thrill. Who will shoot first? Present tense narrative is used particularly cleverly in “Finn: A Novel” by Jon Clinch. Essentially, there are two scenes that are fairly similar, one “now” and one in a flashback to the past. By narrating in the present tense, the author keeps you guessing which of the two events he’s referring to. Deucedly clever! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/3 "2012-10-13T00:08:06Z")
From the title, I had a different example in mind from the OP: If you pick up a paper and ready about something terrible that happened last week, we think, “This is terrible!” Not “This was terrible!” ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/4 "2012-10-13T01:12:08Z")
Related? When criminals confess to certain crimes, they often use present tense rather than past. They speak in 3rd person too. The latter is considered a distancing mechanism. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/5 "2012-10-13T03:20:51Z")
FYI It’s called the [historical (or dramatic or narrative) present](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_present). ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/6 "2012-10-13T03:26:25Z")
That particular device is known as the historical present: [Historical present - Wikipedia](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_present#section_2). It’s pretty common in storytelling, and not just for bad things. There are different opinions on why it’s used, but mostly it seems to be done to bring a sense of immediacy to the crisis point of the story. Both a way of calling attention to the important bit and a device to make you feel suspense along with the narrator. The Lexicon Valley podcast had a discussion of it awhile ago. I can’t access that right now because I’m on my phone. Worth digging up if you’re interested, though. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/7 "2012-10-13T03:27:35Z")
Curses! I type too slowly on this thing. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/8 "2012-10-13T04:24:09Z")
> [@StuffLikeThatThere](#): > > The Lexicon Valley podcast had a discussion of it awhile ago. I can’t access that right now because I’m on my phone. Worth digging up if you’re interested, though. Thanks. I found it [here](http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/lexicon_valley/2012/07/lexicon_valley_the_historical_present_in_seinfeld_and_the_novels_of_charlotte_bronte.html) and it was very entertaining and very on-point. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/9 "2012-10-13T04:47:27Z")
Moved to IMHO from GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/10 "2012-10-14T11:35:45Z")
In French they usually use the present tense when talking about the historical past. I always suspected it was because it was too much trouble to learn the _passé simple_ conjugation, which hardly anyone ever uses. _Zut alors_, just use _le présent_, which everybody knows already. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/11 "2012-10-15T15:47:49Z")
Great refs on historical present–thanks. I suspect the use of it by confessing perps stems from different motivations than desired drama, etc, but maybe not, maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/12 "2012-10-15T21:20:58Z")
Specific the the OP’s mention of a working class New York accent, I think that’s due to a few highly influential / quotable pop-culture bits, especially from stand-up comics. I could be completely mistaken, but I recall Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, and Andrew Dice Clay all using that manner of speaking a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-use-present-tense-to-describe-bad-things-that-happened-in-the-past/637566/13 "2012-10-15T22:22:24Z")
I couldn’t tell you why other people do it – likely for narrative immediacy – but I do it because I’m an eideticker, and I consider mental snapshots (or video, or audio, or spatial paths; I work in several different modes) to be “running right now” when I check them. The event may have been in the past, but I’m _replaying_ it as I’m talking. My brain considers the action I’m describing to be happening in the present ongoing tense, as you would if you were providing commentary on a live video feed. I also do it consistently when writing up critiques or psych profiles of the various people I research. It knocks some people for a loop. Every so often I get asked if I’m aware that people like Richard Feynman and Johnny Cash are presently dead. I generally do know, but when I write the things up, I’m describing observations I’m still in the process of making, hence the present tense. ETA: Both modes are not unlike the techniques used in the show _Crossing Jordan_ or _CSI_ when someone decides to re-enact a murder to help analyze what happened. The narration on those is in present tense, while the actors go through the reconstructed motions of what might have happened.