past historic tense

Definition

A tense used in some languages (such as French and Italian) in narrative, and in spoken language primarily when reading narrative or in storytelling, for completed actions in the past or in speaking of the deceased.

Example Sentences

• "Contrary to the frequently-heard contention that the past historic tense is used in writing but more rarely in spoken French, there are only nine instances of this tense, of which seven occur in the speech genres of FRNACO."