B. The Indicative MoodIn the exercises and texts above, while presenting characters and introducing people, we used thetenses of the Indicative Mood. We practised present and past, tenses which we have in theRomanian language, too, but also present perfect, which we cannot find in Romanian.

B1. Let’s compare the Romanian axis of tenses (which is only one) with the English axes (two ofthem) and discuss their different logic. How is the Romanian manner? We have a unique axis of tenses, with a main point (prezent) with two derivations,one going up (viitor) and one going down (trecut). Of course, we know there are various kinds of past tense –“perfect simplu”, “perfect compus” and “imperfect” – and they differ from the point of view of usage (the first isinformal, colloquial; the second is the most present in written communication; the third involves, in a way,continuity), but they cover the same position in the scheme. There is an intermediate tense which functions betweenpresent and future (called “viitor anterior” or “viitor apropiat”), expressing an action in the future taking placebefore another fact of the future. And there is another relational tense, named “mai mult ca perfect”, whichrepresents an action in the past happening before something else in the past. The Romanian golden rule is that thereis no rule: we are allowed to use any two tenses on the axis together, without restrictions. Let us have someexamples:- “prezent” in combination with “trecut” : “A spus că vine.”- “trecut” in combination with “viitor” : “A spus că va veni.”- “mai mult ca perfect” in combination with “viitor” : “Spusese că va veni.”

So, the Romanian structure seems to be very permissive, the indicative mood being perceivedas a succession of tenses situated in a certain order on a continuous axis. How is the English manner? In English there are two axes, each one with a main tense: the firstaxis with present tense and the second axis with past tense as the central points. The mostimportant thing is not to pass from one axis to another, because they are parallel, and we knowthat parallels never meet. So, on the first axis we have a complete structure of future – present – the past of the presenttense (present perfect). We also have, like in Romanian, an intermediary tense between presentand future, future perfect. - future: subject + shall/will + infinitive (“shall” is used for the 1st person, singular and plural);- future perfect: subject + shall/will + have + 3rd form of the verb (-ed for regular verbs);- present: subject + infinitive (-s/-es for the 3rd person singular);- present perfect: subject + have/has + 3rd form of the verb.Present perfect represents, as we mentioned above, the past of the present, used because inEnglish it is not permitted to use present linked with the proper past. There are three situations inwhich present perfect occurs:1. an action in the past which continues in the present

specific adverbs: always, ever, never, often, rarely, seldom, since, forexamples: I have never met a person like you. I haven’t seen him for five years.

2. an action in the past which is very close to the present specific adverbs: just, yet, recently, latelyexamples: I have just arrived. I have had a lot of work to do recently.

3. an action in the past whose results can be perceived in the present

specific difference from past – example: I lost my pencil yesterday. I have lost my pencilyesterday and I am looking for it now.

On the second axis, we also have a complete structure, symmetrical to that of the first one,composed by future in the past (an action taking place before a past one) – past tense – pastperfect (an action in the past taking place after a past one). There is also the intermediary tensebetween past tense and future in the past, future perfect in the past, rarely used. - future in the past: subject + should/would + infinitive (“should” is used for the 1 st person,

singular and plural);- future perfect in the past: subject + should/would + have + 3rd form of the verb;- past: subject + 2nd form of the verb (-ed for regular verbs);- past perfect: subject + had + 3rd form of the verb.Future in the past is a technical tense, it is mechanically used whenever we try to express afuture action in a past context. In a translation, whereas in Romanian we need a single axis, inEnglish we need both axes. Example: Spune că va veni. – He says he will come.

A spus că va veni. – He said he would come. Past perfect represents in a way the Romanian “mai mult ca perfect”. But the difference is that inRomanian we can use either “trecut” or “mai mult ca perfect”, while in English past perfect has astronger meaning of anteriority. Examples: “A spus că plouase” is the same with “A spus că a plouat” and is translated intoEnglish as “He said it had rained”. “He said it rained” represents two actions taking place in thesame time and is translated into Romanian as “A spus că plouă”.

The Romanian tenses The English tenses=====================================================

T5. Viitor Future Future in the Past

T4. Viitor anterior Future Perfect Future Perfect in the Past

T3. Prezent Present Past

T2. Trecut

T1. Mai mult ca perfect Present Perfect Past Perfect