Tense is frequently divided into three primary classes: past, present, and future. Past tense may be divided into remote past, regular past, and near past (e.g. in many Bantu languages), and future time may be divided into near future, regular future, and remote future (e.g. in many Banty languages). Relative tenses define time in terms of other times, e.g. perfect (past action in relationship to the present) 'have gone,' pluperfect (prior action in relationship to the past) 'had gone,' future perfect (prior action in relationship to the future). Tenses may be very closely associated with aspects.
- Nida (1949), a pag.167