Chinese Language Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Chinese language. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I saw this example on another website: 他们都拿着票。
Tāmen dōu názhe piào.
They were all holding tickets.
I noticed that it said they were all holding tickets. Does that imply it is the past tense? Or is it a narrative?
If a sentence lacks a time indication is it always a certain way? Should this sentence include 了？
In Chinese sometimes a sentense may lack a time, which is quite different from English, which has a specific tense. In this case the tense depends on the text and the language environment but not always means a same way.
For example, imagine that if you were buying a ticket and saw some people who hold tickets, "他们都拿着票" would mean progressive tense. If it is a narrative, it may means past tense.
As for "了"，"了" can be used in many tense. See this Tense and use of 了
