I have told you already about the formation of tribes. When agriculture came, and there was some division of work or labour, it became necessary for some person in the tribe to organise the work. Even against another tribe. The leader was usually the oldest man in the group. He was called, or rather we call him now, the patriarch. As the oldest, he was supposed to be the most experienced and to have the most knowledge. This patriarch was not very different from the other members of the tribe. He worked with the others, and all the food that was produced was divided between all the members of the tribe. Everything belonged to the tribe. It was not like we have now, each person having his separate house and money and many other things. Whatever a man earned was divided up as it all belonged to the tribe. The patriarch or the organiser of the tribe did this dividing.
But changes came in slowly. There were new kinds of work, especially on account of agriculture, and the patriarch had to spend most of his time in organising and seeing that work was properly done by all the members of the tribe. Little by little, the patriarch gave up doing the ordinary work or labour of the people. He thus became quite different from the rest of the people. We see now another kind of division of work or labour: the patriarch doing the organizing and ordering people about, and the other people working in the fields and hunting and going to battle, and obeying the orders of their leader, the patriarch. If there was a war or fight between two tribes, the patriarch became even more powerful, for in wartime it was not possible to fight well without a leader. So the patriarch became very powerful.
'Whatever a man earned was divided up'
Expression Tense Analysis
The question asks us to identify the tense of a specific expression found within the provided passage. The expression in question is: 'Whatever a man earned was divided up'. Understanding verb tenses is crucial for correctly interpreting the timing of actions described in a text.
Breaking Down the Expression: 'Whatever a man earned was divided up'
To determine the tense of the expression, we need to examine its grammatical components, specifically the verbs:
- 'earned': This verb is in the simple past tense. It indicates an action that was completed at some point in the past. In the context of the passage about tribal organization, it refers to the earnings a man made previously.
- 'was divided': This is a passive voice construction. The structure 'was' (a past tense form of the verb 'to be') followed by the past participle ('divided') signifies the passive past tense. It implies that the earnings were subjected to the action of division by someone else, and this action also took place in the past.
Identifying Verb Tenses in the Sentence
Let's look at how different tenses function:
- Past Tense: This tense is used to describe events or actions that have already happened and are completed. It includes the simple past (like 'earned') and the passive past (like 'was divided').
- Past Perfect Tense: This tense is used to describe an action completed before another action in the past. It uses the structure 'had' + past participle (e.g., 'had earned'). The given expression does not use 'had'.
- Present Tense: This tense describes actions happening now or general truths. The expression clearly talks about past events.
- Present Perfect Tense: This tense connects the past with the present, often indicating an action that happened at an unspecified time in the past or continues to the present. It uses 'has' or 'have' + past participle (e.g., 'has earned'). The expression does not use 'has' or 'have'.
Past Tense Confirmation
Both verbs in the expression, 'earned' and 'was divided', point to completed actions in the past. The passage itself discusses historical aspects of tribal formation and organization, further supporting that the events described are set in the past. Therefore, the grammatical structure clearly indicates the Past Tense for the given expression.
Important Questions from Reading Comprehension
Why, according to the writer can't people be motivated to use a resource prudently?
1. They feel that others may overuse the resource
2. It is possible to substitute the resource
3. Abundance of the resource availability
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
When do people use resources exhaustively?
The self-interest of people affects the use of renewable resources
People rooted in a locality
Which among the following is closest in meaning with the word 'deplete'?
