Film time. The use of tenses in English: the logic of use The process of clock development over time

, more Composer Craig Armstrong Editing Zach Stenberg Cameraman Roger Deakins Translator Gennady Panin Dubbing director Yulia Biryukova Screenwriter Andrew Niccol Artists Alex McDowell , Vlad Bina , Todd Cherniavsky , more

Did you know that

• Olivia Wilde, who played Justin Timberlake's mother, is three years younger than him in real life.
• Most of the character names belong to famous watchmakers. For example, Weiss refers to Albert Weiss.
• Cars in movies don't have license plates.
• The vehicle depicted in the film does not have exhaust pipes, but produces sounds similar to modern electric cars. The same technique was used in the film "Gattaca".
• Initially, the tape had the title “I’m.mortal”, which was then renamed “Now”, and then “In Time”.
• Before the Time project, cinematographer Roger Deakins used exclusively film cameras in his work, but this creation of his was made on digital equipment.
• The very idea that time is currency is present in the story “The Price of Money” by Henry Lyon Oldie.
• The watch on each person's wrist has 13 digits, including years, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds.
• Phillip's time wallet password is a combination of the February 12, 1809 birth dates of Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln.
• The oldest car in the film is a 1961 Lincoln Continental. It was the same car that President John F. Kennedy was driving in the day he was assassinated.
• The bus driver who refused to give Rachel a ride is the same person who later agrees to give Sylvia and Salas a ride.
• The building, used as a large bank that the characters enter at the end of the movie, can often be seen in other films and television shows.

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Errors in the film

• When the bar scene is shown and the guards turn their attention to Henry, his sleeves are pulled down to his wrist, but in the close-up they are rolled up to his elbow.
• At the end of the picture, when the guard is chasing the couple, his watch has 44 minutes, and Sylvia's has an hour. He catches up with them, and the time difference between the heroes and the man is 2 minutes.
• When the lovers have the last seconds of time left and the girl rushes towards Will, she is wearing closed black high-heeled shoes. The next moment she was already wearing platform sandals.
• Sylvia correctly tells her companion the date of birth of Charles Darwin - 1809, but her lips clearly show that she said 1804.
• In the poker scene, Timberlake's character raises a glass of champagne in his right hand, although less than 2 minutes later he is holding chips in it.
• At the beginning of the film, when Will gets out of bed, his time meter is on his left hand. A little later it is already on the right hand, and then again on the left.
• When the characters are sitting in a stolen limousine under a tree, the sun shines in their faces, but when watching TV, the rays pass over Salas's right shoulder.
• The woman at the pawn shop was missing a time meter.
• In the scene of the car accident, the Type E Jaguar falls into a ditch, and it is clearly visible that it is a toy car.
• When a trapped car falls down, it is noticeable that there are no passengers inside.
• The vehicle Will bought does not have a rearview mirror.
• Near the end of the film, when Salas drives through a hail of police bullets, the driver's side window is rolled down. The next moment, at least three traces of the ricochet are visible.

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Plot

Beware, the text may contain spoilers!

In the future, immortality is a reality, as people stop aging after 25 years. Upon reaching this age, if reserves are not replenished, only one year of life remains. Now time is at the cost of everything, and every person has a watch on his left hand that shows his balance. When it ends, the numbers go out and the owner dies of cardiac arrest.

Thus, society was divided into rich and poor. The latter live in a temporary ghetto. Among them are 28-year-old Will Salas and his mother Rachel. They live for today, constantly earning time for the next. One day, her son and his friend Borel notice a rich man in a bar who has 116 years left. His name is Henry Hamilton. At this time, sentries suddenly appear - people stealing time from others. Salas saves Henry. They run away and hide in an abandoned building. When the hero falls asleep, his partner gives him all his time, leaving only 5 minutes for himself, and goes to the bridge. Waking up, Will does not have time to save his friend; he falls into the river. In addition, the guy was caught on camera and he is declared a murderer.

He wants to take his mother to the New Greenwich temporary zone, where the rich live. But he doesn't make it in time, and Rachel dies. Then Salas goes there alone. Having met Sylvia, the daughter of a large banker, he runs away from the police back to the ghetto, taking her hostage. During this time, the heroes lose almost all their time, and they have to look for options to survive. By handing over the girl's earrings to a pawnshop, the couple saves one day for each. They fall in love and begin robbing Sylvia's father's banks. Having received a capsule with a million years, Will gives it to a girl from the ghetto so that she can distribute time to all the poor. After that, they go to New Greenwich and destroy the system, and the heroes rob another bank.

Many philosophers and sages of East and West have argued that time does not really exist. Thus, Democritus, following Parmenides in this, wrote: “Time is appearance in the form of days and nights.” Aristotle defined time as “the number (that is, the measure) of movement,” which means that movement is real, but time is relative. But on the other hand, why then is the power of time over a person so inexorable, why can’t we turn back time, stop it or speed it up?

From the point of view of Indian philosophy, there are different levels of consciousness and reality, and at each of them time has a different meaning and a different origin.

1) Object, or objective time – the time of the waking world, which “collects” our consciousness when we are awake. About this time, Plato’s words in the Timaeus remain true that the planets are “instruments of time,” that is, this time is literally generated, and not simply measured, by the movement of the planets (stars are also included in this concept). Indeed, if time is the number of motion, then in the Universe the greatest amount of motion (momentum) has the total motion of stars and planets.

2) Subjective time – psychological time, the time of dreams. Here time is derived from the intensity of experiences and their quality, as described in the above quote from the Mahatma Letters. We can speed up and slow down this time, but we cannot stop or reverse it.

3) The time of dreamless sleep is no longer quite time in our usual understanding. This is semantic time, which is generated by attention. When we say “You won't give me a little time,” it is the same as “You won't give me a little attention,” which means time and attention have the same root. But at the level of dreamless sleep, the boundaries of subjects are erased, and we need to talk about a certain non-subjective attention, which can be compared with the currents in the intelligent ocean of Solaris. Although this attention is non-subjective, in religions it is sometimes personified in the image of God. So, this is that terrible Time (Kala), the image of which Krishna showed to Arjuna in Chapter XI of the Bhagavad Gita.

4) And only at the 4th level of consciousness and reality there really is no time, since this is the level of the Absolute, incomprehensible and inexpressible in our human concepts, including in the concepts of time.

So, time is truly relative and does not have an independent reality, but at different levels it has a different nature and different sources. And since human existence and man himself as such also have a relative existence at the same levels of relativity, it is logical that human existence is subject to the limitations of time at the corresponding level. To completely free yourself from the limitations of time, you need to completely dissolve in the Absolute.

The seasons are four amazing seasons, each unique and charming in its own way. Spring awakening the living world, fragrant summer, graceful autumn and harsh winter. Nature is incredibly beautiful in all seasons, like a fairy-tale princess trying on different clothes.

Whatever the weather in the yard, be it rainy, stormy or hot, it conveys the mood and colors of its season. Therefore, if you look outside the window differently, then regardless of the rain or sleet, you want to rejoice and appreciate the opportunity that nature gives us as the seasons change.

Spring Awakening

In spring, nature awakens after a long winter sleep: every day it becomes warmer, everything around turns green literally before our eyes, and in the forest you can increasingly see animals and hear the joyful chirping of birds. At the beginning of spring there is little snow, but there are still plenty of cloudy days.

The appearance of snowdrops means that spring has fully come into its own. It is gradually getting warmer, there are more sunny days, and soon a light rain begins to water the blossoming trees. Everyone is looking forward to the first thunderstorm in May, which announces that a warm and sunny summer has arrived.

Green summer kingdom

In summer, the meadows are covered with a fragrant plant cloth, and the gardens delight with a riot of colors - everything around turns into a green summer kingdom. It is at this time of year that nature shows all its richness. And the summer night is a special time when you can enjoy the distant stars, falling asleep under the open sky.

High air temperatures and scorching sun force people to seek shade under the majestic tree crowns. Bringing short-term relief, summer rain allows you to see a real miracle of nature - a rainbow. But the leaves that are gradually beginning to turn yellow already indicate that autumn is ahead.

Gloomy autumn

Autumn is a gloomy time when you don’t want to leave the house at all due to constant rains. The weather at this time of year is constantly changing: one moment the bright sun is shining overhead, and a moment later the sky is covered with thick clouds - a downpour has begun.

But still, in autumn, nature is incredibly beautiful, because the golden leaves falling from the trees create an amazing atmosphere. You can watch with interest the birds that fly away to warmer regions for the winter, and the animals preparing for hibernation. Everything is fine as long as the autumn forest is painted with golden colors, but soon the bare trees sadly note that winter will soon come.

The harsh rules of winter

Winter is a real snow queen: she covers everything around with fluffy snow, which brings a lot of joy. But this time of year has its own harsh rules that have to be taken into account: long blizzard nights give way to short, non-sunny days. In winter, nature becomes silent - animals are hibernating, even the chirping of birds cannot be heard.

But still, at this time of year, nature is beautiful in its own way: the white fluffy tablecloth stretches for many kilometers, the snow crunches underfoot and lies on the tree branches like a white pillow. But soon the streams will gurgle and snowdrops will burst through, as news of the coming spring.

English tenses are considered the most difficult topic, because in Russian we have only 3 tenses, and in English there are 12.

When studying them, everyone has many questions.

• What time should I use?
• Would it be considered a mistake to use one tense instead of another?
• Why is it necessary to use this time and not another?

This confusion occurs because we learn the rules of grammar but do not fully understand them.

However, English tenses are not as complicated as they seem.

Their use depends on what idea you want to convey to your interlocutor. To do this correctly, you need to understand the logic and usage of English tenses.

I warn you right away that in this article I will not explain to you the grammatical formation of sentences. In it I will give precisely an understanding of the times.

In the article we will look at the cases of using 12 tenses and compare them with each other, as a result of which you will understand how they differ and when to use which tense.

Let's get started.

What tenses are there in English?

In English, as well as in Russian, there are 3 blocks of tenses familiar to us.

1. Present (present) - denotes an action that occurs in the present tense.

2. Past - denotes an action that occurs in the past tense (once upon a time).

3. Future - denotes an action that will occur in the future tense.

However, the English times do not end there. Each of these groups of times is divided into:

1. Simple- simple.

2. Continuous- long-term.

3. Perfect- completed.

4. Perfect Continuous- long-term completed.

The result is 12 times.

It is the use of these 4 groups that baffles English language learners. After all, in the Russian language there is no such division.

How do you know what time to use?

To use English tenses correctly, you need 3 things.

• Understand the logic of English tenses
  That is, to know what time is intended for what and when it is used.
• Be able to construct sentences according to the rules
  That is, not only to know, but to be able to speak these sentences.
• Understand exactly what idea you want to convey to your interlocutor
  That is, be able to choose the right time depending on the meaning you put into your words.

To understand English tenses, let's look at each group in detail.

Once again, I will not explain the grammatical formation of sentences. And I’ll explain to you the logic by which we determine which group’s time should be used.

We'll start with the easiest group - Simple.

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Simple group tenses in English

Simple is translated as “simple”.

We use this tense when we talk about facts that:

• happen in the present tense
• happened in the past
• will happen in the future.

For example

I drive a car.
I drive a car.

We say that a person knows how to drive a car and this is a fact.

Let's look at another example.

She bought a dress.
She bought a dress.

We are talking about the fact that sometime in the past (yesterday, last week or last year) she bought herself a dress.

Remember: when you talk about some action as a fact, then use the Simple group.

You can study all the times of this group in detail here:

Now let's compare Simple with another group of tenses - Continuous.

Continuous tenses in English

Continuous is translated as “long, continuous.”

When we use this tense, we talk about action as a process that:

• happening at the moment
• happened in the past at a certain moment,
• will happen in the future at a certain moment.

For example

I am driving a car.
I'm driving.

Unlike the Simple group, here we do not mean a fact, but talk about a process.

Let's see the difference between fact and process.

Fact:“I can drive a car, I have a license.”

Process:“I got behind the wheel some time ago and now I’m driving the car, that is, I’m in the process of driving.”

Let's look at another example.

I will be flying to Moscow tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will fly to Moscow.

We are talking about the fact that tomorrow you will board a plane and for some time you will be in the process of flying.

That is, for example, you need to get in touch with a client. You tell him that you will not be able to talk to him at this time, as you will be in the middle of a flight.

Remember: when you want to emphasize the duration of an action, that is, that the action is a process, use the Continuous tenses.

You can read in detail about each time of this group here:

Now let's move on to the Perfect group.

Perfect tenses in English

Perfect is translated as “completed/perfect.”

We use this tense when we focus on the result of an action, which:

• we have received by now,
• we got to a certain point in the past,
• we will receive by a certain point in the future.

Note that even in the present tense this tense is translated into Russian as the past. However, despite this, you say that the result of this action is important in the present moment.

For example

I have fixed my car.
I fixed the car.

We focus on the result that we currently have - a working machine. For example, you say that you fixed your car, now it works, and you can go to your friends’ country house.

Let's compare this group with others.

Let's talk about a fact (Simple):

I cooked dinner.
I was preparing dinner.

For example, you tell your friend about the fact that you prepared a delicious dinner yesterday.

I was cooking dinner.
I was preparing dinner.

You say you were in the process of cooking. For example, they didn’t answer the phone because they were cooking (we were in the process) and didn’t hear the call.

Let's talk about the result (Perfect):

I have cooked dinner.
I cooked dinner.

You currently have the result of this action - a ready-made dinner. For example, you call the whole family for lunch because dinner is ready.

Remember: when you want to focus on the result of an action, use the Perfect group.

Read more about all the times of the Perfect group in these articles:

Now let's move on to the last group, Perfect Continuous.

Perfect Continuous tenses in English

Perfect Continuous is translated as “complete continuous.” As you noticed from the name, this group of tenses includes characteristics of 2 groups at once.

We use it when we talk about a long-term action (process) and obtaining a result.

That is, we emphasize that the action began some time ago, lasted (was in process) for a certain time and at the moment:

1. We received the result of this action

For example: “He repaired the car for 2 hours” (the action lasted 2 hours, and at the moment he has a result - a working car).

2. The action is still going on

For example: “He has been fixing the car for 2 hours” (he started fixing the car 2 hours ago, was in the process of fixing it, and is still fixing it now).

We can say that the action began some time ago, lasted and:

• ended/continues in the present,
• ended/continued until a certain point in the past,
• will end/will continue until a certain point in the future.

For example

I have been cooking this dinner for 2 hours.
I cooked dinner for 2 hours.

That is, you started cooking 2 hours ago and by now you have the result of your action - a ready-made dinner.

Let's compare this time with others similar to it.

Let's talk about the process (Continuous):

I am painting a picture.
I'm painting a picture.

We say that we are currently in the process of drawing. It doesn’t matter to us how much time it has already taken, it is important to us that you are currently involved in this process.

We talk about the result (Perfect)

I have painted a picture.
I painted a picture.

We say that at the moment we have a result - a completed picture.

We talk about the result and the process (Perfect Continuous)

1. I have been painting a picture for an hour.
I painted the picture for an hour.

We say that at the moment we have a result - a completed picture. You also point out that you were in the drawing process for one hour to get this result.

2. I have been painting a picture for an hour.
I paint a picture for one hour.

We say that we are now in the process of drawing, while we focus on the fact that we have been busy with this process for an hour. Unlike Continuous times, where we care only about what is happening at a certain (given) moment, and not how long we have been doing it.

Remember: if you want to emphasize not only the result obtained, but also its duration (how long it took you to get it), then use the Perfect Continuous.

General table comparing tenses of the groups Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous

Let's look again at what each group of tenses is responsible for. Look at the table.

Time	Example	Accent
Simple	I did my homework. I was doing my homework.	We're talking about facts. For example, you once studied at university and did your homework. This is a fact.
Continuous	I was doing my homework. I was doing my homework.	We talk about the process, emphasizing the duration of the action. For example, you didn’t clean your room because you were busy doing your homework.
Perfect	I have done my homework. I did my homework.	We talk about the result. For example, you came to class with your homework ready. The teacher doesn't care how long it took you. He is interested in the result - whether the work is done or not.
Perfect Continuous	I have been doing my homework for 2 hours. I did my homework for 2 hours.	We emphasize not only the result, but also the duration of the action before receiving it. For example, you complain to a friend that homework is too difficult. You spent 2 hours on it and: did it (got the result), still doing at the moment.

Bottom line

Use English tenses depending on the meaning you want to convey to your interlocutor. The most important thing is to understand what the emphasis is on in each tense.

1. We talk about action as a fact - Simple.

2. We talk about action as a process - Continuous.

3. We talk about action, focusing on the result - Perfect.

4. We talk about the action, emphasizing that it took a certain time before obtaining the result - Perfect Continuous.

I hope that now you understand the logic of English times, and you will be able to convey the correct meaning to your interlocutor.

Despite the fact that the phenomenon of time seems intuitive and is a fundamental concept in philosophy and science, an exact definition of time has not yet been formed. In this article we will look at several basic concepts of time from a scientific perspective.

Classical physics

Classical physics developed before the emergence of Einstein's theory of relativity and quantum theory. According to the classical concept of time, time is a continuous quantity that is not determined by anything and is an a priori characteristic of the world. Time is the main condition for the occurrence of any processes in the world. Such time flows equally for all processes and in all points of the world, while there is nothing that can influence the passage of time. Even though bodies and processes can speed up and slow down, time flows evenly. In this regard, from the point of view of classical physics, time is called absolute. These properties of time were described by Isaac Newton in his work “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy” in 1687.

"Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" by Isaac Newton

In classical mechanics, the transition from one reference system (inertial) to another is described by the so-called Galilean transformations. The equations of Newtonian mechanics are invariant with respect to these transformations, which implies the absoluteness of time.

It should be noted that in classical physics, time does not have a specific axis, since within the framework of this concept, the flow of time in the opposite direction is equivalent to its usual flow.

Thermodynamics

Unlike classical physics, thermodynamics states that time is irreversible due to the second law of thermodynamics. According to this law, there is a certain state function - entropy, which does not decrease in any processes in closed systems. If time could go in the opposite direction, entropy in such systems would decrease, which contradicts the above law.

Thermodynamics is characterized by a strict requirement for the existence of a time axis.

Quantum mechanics

For the most part, the concept of time within quantum mechanics is similar to the interpretation of classical physics, that is, time flows uniformly. However, the main difference between this definition is the irreversibility of time. This is due to the fact that the measurement process is asymmetrical in time. Measuring at the moment will give information about the state of the object in the past, but in the future it will give a new state.

Relativistic physics (Einstein's theory of relativity)

The most popular concept of time today is the definition of time within the framework of Einstein's theory of relativity.

Albert Einstein on the beach (1939), probably thinking about physics

First of all, the main postulates of this concept should be noted:

1. The speed of light in vacuum is the same in all coordinate systems that move relative to each other uniformly and rectilinearly.

2. Physical laws are the same in all coordinate systems that move relative to each other uniformly and rectilinearly.

3. Any event can only affect events that occur later than it and does not affect events that occur before it.

Based on the above postulates, it can be argued that events that occur simultaneously in one frame of reference may not be simultaneous in another frame of reference moving relative to the first frame of reference. Thus, within the framework of this concept, the passage of time depends on the movement of the chosen reference frame. Simply put, the speed of a watch depends on who is wearing it.

The most interesting aspect of this theory is the effect of gravity on the passage of time. Within the framework of this concept, space and time are independent parts of one space-time continuum. Then, near massive objects, not only space is distorted, but also the speed of time changes

Curvature of space-time as a result of gravitational disturbance (see fourth image).

In relativistic physics, time is defined as the fourth coordinate axis of a coordinate system, the other three axes of which represent the three spatial coordinates of “our three-dimensional world.” Thus, every body has a so-called world line. If we consider this body in the mentioned four-dimensional coordinate system, then it will be represented by an extended set of these bodies. That is, at each moment in time of its existence, the body will be plotted on a four-dimensional coordinate system, depending on its spatial as well as temporal position.

Human world line (simplified), where X and Y are two spatial coordinates, and T is a time coordinate (see fifth image).

What is time?

Based on the above, it becomes clear that it is completely unclear to humanity what time is. The theories listed here only attempt to define time mathematically (and geometrically) as something that can be used in further calculations to explain observed phenomena.

Based on the postulates emerging from the basic concepts of time, we can try to formulate the following subjective definition:

“Time is an a priori geometric parameter that characterizes movement, determines the duration of the existence of all processes, and is a condition for the existence of change. It is an integral part of the space-time continuum; there is its fourth coordinate along with three spatial ones. Time can be bent as a result of gravitational disturbances, but it is irreversible. This phenomenon is relative and depends on the choice of the reference system and its speed. Subject to the postulate of causality, according to which any event can only influence events that occur after it and does not affect events that occur before it.”

Salvador Dali's painting "The Persistence of Memory" from 1931 (see sixth image).

This phenomenon is impossible to imagine in the mind, and therefore scientists from all over the world are trying to explain it mathematically, which still remains an impossible task and causes a lot of disagreement in the scientific community. If you ask a scientist the question “What is time?”, then most likely the answer you will hear is “This is what is measured by a clock.”