--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A natural New Yorker is a native of the…" description: "\"A natural New Yorker is a native of the present tense.\" — V. S. Pritchett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/v-s-pritchett-13789_native_a-natural-new-yorker-is-a-native-of-the_571334.jpg" --- # A natural New Yorker is a native of the present tense. ![“A natural New Yorker is a native of the present tense.” quote by V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/v-s-pritchett-13789_native_a-natural-new-yorker-is-a-native-of-the_571334.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/v-s-pritchett-13789_native_a-natural-new-yorker-is-a-native-of-the_571334.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/v-s-pritchett-13789_native_a-natural-new-yorker-is-a-native-of-the_571334.jpg) > “A natural New Yorker is a native of the present tense.” [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being a true New Yorker means living fully in the moment, constantly aware of the present. **In simple terms:** Live in the present. Key Takeaway Embrace immediacy. Themes presence mindfulness urban life Mood contemplative energetic Type observational cultural When to use this quote - daily commuting - social gatherings - creative work Key Concepts existentialism temporal awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does staying present affect long‑term goals? - What practices keep you grounded? A Different Perspective May overlook future planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Native](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native/) [Native Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native-present-4714593/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [New yorker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-yorker/) [New yorkers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-yorkers/) [Present tense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-tense/) [Tense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tense/) [York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york/) [Yorker Native](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yorker-native-4714592/) ## Related quotes > [My last defense / Is the present tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/my-last-defense-is-the-present-tense/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [A money-lender--he serves you in the present tense; he lends you in the conditional mood; keeps you in the conjunctive; and ruins you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/a-money-lender-he-serves-you-in-the-present-tense-he-lends-you-in-the/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [I love you present tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-love-you-present-tense/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“To remember was an act not of excavation but of self-creation in the present tense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-secor/to-remember-was-an-act-not-of-excavation-but-of-self-creation-in-the/) [Laura Secor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-secor/) > [“Oh God, Alaska, I love you. I love you," and the Colonel whispered, "I'm so sorry, Pudge. I know you did," and I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/oh-god-alaska-i-love-you-i-love-you-and-the-colonel-whispered-i-m-so/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“For children, childhood is timeless. It is always the present. Everything is in the present tense. Of course, they have memories. Of course, time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/for-children-childhood-is-timeless-it-is-always-the-present/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Sometimes I would have to take my glasses off simply so the world would smudge and recede for a moment and cease to seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/sometimes-i-would-have-to-take-my-glasses-off-simply-so-the-world/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [“When we talk about literature, we do so in the present tense. 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Everything that was once present tense is now in the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-reese/that-s-probably-the-worst-thing-about-death-is-turns-into-was/) [Caleb Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-reese/) > [Almost by definition, secularism cannot be a future: it's a present-tense culture that over time disconnects a society from cross-generational purpose. Which is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/almost-by-definition-secularism-cannot-be-a-future-it-s-a-present-2/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) ## More by V. S. Pritchett > [The mark of genius is an incessant activity of mind. Genius is a spiritual greed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/the-mark-of-genius-is-an-incessant-activity-of-mind-genius-is-a/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [There is more magic in sin if it is not committed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/there-is-more-magic-in-sin-if-it-is-not-committed/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [Queen Victoria - a mixture of national landlady and actress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/queen-victoria-a-mixture-of-national-landlady-and-actress/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [The State, that cawing rookery of committees and subcommittees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/the-state-that-cawing-rookery-of-committees-and-subcommittees/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [Like many popular best-sellers, he was a very sad and solemn man who took himself too seriously and his art not seriously enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/like-many-popular-best-sellers-he-was-a-very-sad-and-solemn-man-who/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [The Canadian spirit is cautious, observant and critical where the American is assertive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/the-canadian-spirit-is-cautious-observant-and-critical-where-the/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [It is less the business of the novelist to tell us what happened than to show how it happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/it-is-less-the-business-of-the-novelist-to-tell-us-what-happened-than/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [The detective novel is the art-for-art's-sake of our yawning Philistinism, the classic example of a specialized form of art removed from contact with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/the-detective-novel-is-the-art-for-art-s-sake-of-our-yawning/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [A short story is. . .frequently the celebration of character at bursting point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/a-short-story-is-frequently-the-celebration-of-character-at-bursting/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [The wrongs of childhood and upbringing have made a large and obsessional contribution to autobiography and the novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/the-wrongs-of-childhood-and-upbringing-have-made-a-large-and/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [Prep school, public school, university: these now tedious influences standardize English autobiography, giving the educated Englishman the sad if fascinating appearance of a stuffed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/prep-school-public-school-university-these-now-tedious-influences/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [How extraordinary it is that one feels most guilt about the sins one is unable to commit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/how-extraordinary-it-is-that-one-feels-most-guilt-about-the-sins-one/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [The difference between farce and humour in literature is, I suppose, that farce strums louder and louder on one string, while humour varies its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/the-difference-between-farce-and-humour-in-literature-is-i-suppose/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [On one plane, the very great writers and the popular romancers of the lower order always meet. They use all of themselves, helplessly, unselectively.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/on-one-plane-the-very-great-writers-and-the-popular-romancers-of-the/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [Absolute Evil is not the kingdom of hell. The inhabitants of hell are ourselves, i.e., those who pay our painful, embarrassing, humanistic duties to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/absolute-evil-is-not-the-kingdom-of-hell-the-inhabitants-of-hell-are/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) [Explore all 49 V. S. Pritchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) ## More Native quotes > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. 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There were Native Americans living here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-soloway/it-s-interesting-to-think-about-the-history-of-israel-in-relation-to/) [Jill Soloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-soloway/) > [There's all sorts of soul. There's Irish soul and Native American soul. If it touches you and moves you, it's soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oates/there-s-all-sorts-of-soul-there-s-irish-soul-and-native-american-soul/) [John Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oates/) > [Tribe follows tribe, nations follow nations like the tides of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-seattle/tribe-follows-tribe-nations-follow-nations-like-the-tides-of-the-sea/) [Chief Seattle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-seattle/) > [In my normal way of doing things, there's a little bit of 'going native' that takes place, where you're in a world long enough,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-theroux/in-my-normal-way-of-doing-things-there-s-a-little-bit-of-going-native/) [Louis Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-theroux/) > [There's nothing like having a history with someone, when you're in a foreign land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-o-hara/there-s-nothing-like-having-a-history-with-someone-when-you-re-in-a/) [Catherine O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-o-hara/) > [The working people are bound to their native shores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/the-working-people-are-bound-to-their-native-shores/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [Whatever strengthens our local attachments is favorable both to individual and national character, our home, our birthplace, our native land. Think for a while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/whatever-strengthens-our-local-attachments-is-favorable-both-to/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [I have always been interested in mythology and history. The more I read, the more I realized that there have always been people at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/i-have-always-been-interested-in-mythology-and-history-the-more-i/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-have-never-had-to-face-anything-that-could-overwhelm-the-native/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [The workman cut to the left, still laying on his horn, and roared around the drunkenly weaving limousine. He invited the driver of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-workman-cut-to-the-left-still-laying-on-his-horn-and-roared/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Browse all 1,234 Native quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A natural New Yorker is a native of the present tense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "V. S. 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