There is a total absence of inflection. One and the same form of the verb is used under all circumstances of time past, present, or future, as well as of mode of action. The relations of time and mode are indicated,—
I. By the connection simply. Thus, when one is speaking of something which from the general sense must be inferred to have already taken place, then the tenses are all past tenses, though there may not be a single word or termination to indicate it. In other words, the tense is determined by “circumstantial evidence.” Thus, uá hàm i lâi, means literally, I call him come. If it is evident that I am talking of something which occurred a month ago, then, from this circumstance alone, is it known that I am intending the tense, and the translation should be, I told him to come. But if it is obvious that I am speaking of something that will take place next month, then the translation of the same words should be, I will tell him to come. Since ordinary conversation among the Chinese is marked by such an amount of indefiniteness, it is not strange that the foreign student, at the outset, is much perplexed. The latter has the grim consolation of knowing that the Chinese themselves are often puzzled, and are frequently heard interposing an inquiry to a speaker in order to get the proper tense significance.
II. By some one word, or clause, or sentence indicative of time when, and used by the speaker at the beginning of his remarks. This one word may determine the tense of verbs that follow to the number of a dozen or more. Its effect may be compared to that of a flat or a sharp in music, which flats or sharps all the notes on that space or line. It will convert a past into a future tense, or a future into a past tense.
For example, uá khṳ̀ Suàⁿ-thâu bói-mue̍h, bói-hó--liáu tńg--lâi chiũ pa lói-chia̍h, chia̍h-liáu khṳ̀-gu̍t. Here are a half dozen verbs, but there is nothing in any of them to determine clearly whether they are past tense or future tense, whether the speaker is telling of something he did yesterday, or something he is going to do to-morrow. The translation literally is, I go Swatow, buy something, bought finished, come back home, then make ready eat, eat finished, go sleep.
