Absolute tense means the grammatical expression of time reference (usually past, present or future) relative to "now" – the moment of speaking.
In the case of absolute tense, the grammatical expression of time reference is made relative to the present moment.
It has been pointed out that the term is somewhat misleading, since this kind of time reference is not truly absolute, but is relative to the moment of speaking.
[2] A verb form commonly offered as an example of such a relative tense is the imperfect of Classical Arabic.
)[4] An example of a normally absolute tense being used relatively, in English, is provided by indirect speech placed in the future.
Similarly, a form that places the action in the future relative to the reference point may be regarded as having either posterior tense or prospective aspect.
However, the proposal that aspect generally can explain relative tense has been argued against on the basis of cross-linguistic data.
Joan Bybee remarks that "[anterior] seems to resemble a tense more than an aspect, since it does not affect the internal temporal contours of the situation.