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quick grammar check
Hi. I just have a very simple question.
What verb tense is applied to the verb in this phrase?
"... you will have to tap me."
For example if my friend told me, "If you ever want to quit the job, you will have to tap me and I will help you out," for some context.
Thank you to anyone who could give some help.
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The best way to look at it, in my opinion, as a main verb (the infinitive "tap") with two helping verbs: "will", the future modal auxiliary, and "have to", a semi-modal expressing obligation.
Will is Future Simple.
"If you ever want to quit the job, you will have to tap me..." is First Conditional (a hypothetical situation in the future that is probable or likely).
Although this is often described as “future tense” I think it important to point out that English, like other Germanic languages, doesn’t have a future tense. This isn’t just a terminological issue: will is part of a system with the other modal auxiliaries: may, can, must, and shall. There is a special set of grammatical rules applying to these words, and there is no basis for analyzing them separately. If anything, “must” is the modal auxiliary that most appropriately could be analyzed separately because it is the only modal auxiliary without a preterite form (the others having would, might, could, and should).
The practice of describing usage of “will” as “future tense” is generally influenced by analogy to other languages which do have a future tense, but languages generally have different markers of tense/aspect/mood.
English has two systems of tense (one inflectional: present/preterite, and one analytical: perfect or not perfect) it also has the progressive aspect and the modal auxiliary system I just described.
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TLDR: Your example "... you will have to tap me" has only one primary tensed verb, and that verb is the present-tense verb "will".
Grammatically, your example involves an 'and'-coordination of two main clauses:
"If you ever want to quit the job, [you will have to tap me] and [I will help you out]."
and each of those main clauses are headed by the present-tense verb "will", which is a modal-auxiliary verb.
Note: The corresponding past-tense verb is "would", where "will" and "would" make up the verb lexeme WILL.
PERFECT. yeah ive been thinking about present tense. but BIG THANKS for clarifying the components.