nontensed

Nontensed is a linguistic term used to describe a property of languages or verb forms in which tense is not morphologically or syntactically marked on the verb. The term is a coinage from non- + tensed and is used primarily in theoretical typology and descriptions of tenseless or largely tenseless languages. In a nontensed system, temporal interpretation is derived from context, discourse, or lexical or aspectual markers rather than from verb inflection.

The term is not widely standardized; many linguists prefer tenseless, or no-tense, to describe the same idea. Nontensed descriptions are commonly applied to languages with analytic morphology and limited or no grammatical tense; examples of time reference in such languages are often expressed with adverbs, temporal deictics, or aspect markers rather than tense inflection.

In practice, a nontensed language may still convey time reference, but not through a dedicated tense morphology. Instead, a sentence’s time frame may be specified by additional context, the use of aspect markers, or sentence-level discourse cues. Some languages described as tenseless nonetheless display a tense-like interpretation when embedded under certain clauses or in subordinate constructions.

Critics note that the label can obscure the complexity of time reference, as many languages rely on multiple systems for aspect, mood, and evidentiality to convey temporal information. Thus, nontensed is best understood as a descriptive convenience in cross-linguistic typology rather than a universal property.

See also: tense, tenseless language, aspect, deictic, temporal adverb.