historical present

American  

[hi-stawr-i-kuhl prez-uhnt, -stor-] / hɪˈstɔr ɪ kəl ˈprɛz ənt, -ˈstɒr- /

noun

1. the present tense used to narrate a past event as if it were happening at the time of narration, as in Then, in 49 b.c., Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon River and prepares to march on Rome.

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adjective

1. designating, in, or relating to the present tense used to narrate a past event as if it were happening at the time of narration.

historical present British  

noun

1. the present tense used to narrate past events, usually employed in English for special effect or in informal use, as in a week ago I'm walking down the street and I see this accident

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Etymology

Origin of historical present

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Furthermore, it becomes clear as the book proceeds that each chapter corresponds to a significant span of "your" life, and is set in the historical present.

From The Guardian • Mar. 28, 2013

MIKE: Listeners of this podcast will recognize that what Bob's talking about is me using the "historical present."

From Slate • Sep. 18, 2012

All right, I will try not to use the historical present in this interview that we're gonna do with Geoff Nunberg.

From Slate • Sep. 18, 2012

Yet there are types of novel where the historical present is true to a pattern.

From The Guardian • Sep. 24, 2010

A shift to the historical present should not be made abruptly, or frequently, or for any subject except an important crisis.

From The Century Handbook of Writing by Greever, Garland