Literary notes about present (AI summary)
The word "present" assumes multiple roles in literary texts, demonstrating a rich versatility in meaning. As a temporal marker, it frequently signifies the current moment or era—phrases like "at present" or "present day" evoke immediacy and historical context, as seen in discussions of contemporary affairs [1], [2], [3] and contrasting states of being [4]. In the realm of grammar, "present" designates both a specific tense and conjugation form, highlighting its technical aspect in linguistics [5], [6]. Moreover, it also emerges as a noun referring to a gift or offering, adding a tangible, action-oriented layer to narrative descriptions [7], [8]. Whether pinpointing time, grammatical function, or the act of giving, "present" enriches literary expression by connecting diverse spheres of meaning.
- A philosophic theist might subscribe the popular creed of the Mahometans; a creed too sublime, perhaps, for our present faculties.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - But you that adhere to the Lord your God, are all alive until this present day.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Overlooking the harbour of the modern Toronto, far down in the east, there stands at the present day, a large structure of grey cut-stone.
— from Toronto of Old by Henry Scadding - Here he anticipates such a fate for himself, from the fact that he is 'the only man of the present day who performs his public duties at all.'
— from Gorgias by Plato - The imperfect subjunctive may be formed by adding the personal endings to the present active infinitive.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - These conjugations are distinguished from each other by the final vowel of the present conjugation-stem.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - “You must dress yourself, Raoul,” said Athos, “I am going to present you to some one.”
— from Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - Cyrus admired the man, and made him a present of ten thousand darics (2).
— from Anabasis by Xenophon
