Tense (II)
A framework for
analysis
TENSE
temporal interpretation is the result of the
meaning conveyed by the tense morpheme
and by the time adverbial (if any)
a. Anchored time adv.
b. Unanchored time adv.
Tense
Temporal interpretation : tense morphemes
and time adverbials (if any)
Temporal interpretation : relative to ST
ET before ST = past
ET at ST = present
ET after ST = future
Tense
BUT:
Does temporal interpretation rely only on the
relationship between ST and ET?
Tense
(1) Next Friday I will be working here.
ST= now
ET after ST (next Friday) = future
(2) Next Friday I will have been working here
for a week.
ST= now
ET after ST (next Friday) = future
Do (1) and (2) have the same interpretation?
Tense
(3) John has killed the pig.
ST= now
ET before ST = past
(4) John killed the pig.
ST= now
ET before ST = past
Tense
(5) Yesterday I fixed the computer.
ST= now; ET before ST = past
(6) Yesterday I had fixed the computer for two
days.
ST= now; ET before ST = past
Tense
Temporal interpretation is incomplete if we take
into account only ST/ET
(7) At 2.00, John had left for two hours.
at 2.00 = ?
for two hours = ?
Tense
at 2.00 = the point in time/the time interval
which the speaker has chosen as the time
relative to which the situation is located in
time , i.e. it is the time of reference (RT)
RT= the time about which a specific claim is
made/TOPIC time (Klein 1992)
Tense
RT=ST [ PRESENT]
RT before ST [PAST]
RT after ST [FUTURE]
RT < tense marker (+ time adverbial)
Tense
(8) I like movies now.
ST= now
RT=ST [ /z/ and ‘now’]
(9) At 5.00 I had already handed in the essay.
ST= now
RT before ST [ /d/ and ‘at 5.00’]
Tense
(10) Tomorrow in the morning I will have killed
the pig.
ST= now
RT after ST [will and “tomorrow”)
Last week ....
ET = the time when the situation obtains
ST= anchored in the speech situation
RT= the point in time relative to which the
event is located in time.
The temporal interpretation of Ss mirrors the
relations between these time intervals
(Reichenbach 1947)
Tense
ST/RT
RT/ET
ST/ET : mediated by RT.
Each tense is analyzed in terms of :
A. The REFERENCE COMPONENT (ST/RT)
B. The RELATION COMPONENT (RT/ET)
Tense
A tense is interpreted COMPOSITIONALLY
The EXISTENTIAL STATUS of a sentence
(ET/ST) derives from A and B.
Tense
RT = given by the tense morpheme and the
time adverbial
(11) I am here now.
RT=ST [present]
(12) I was here yesterday.
RT before ST [ past]
(13) I will be here tomorrow.
RT after ST [future]
Tense
ET: different from RT
the auxiliary HAVE
(14) They have left.
ST= now
RT = ST [ present]
ET before RT [ perfect/ closed situation]
ET before ST [historical ES]
Tense
PPs
(15) I left before 2.00.
ST= now
RT before ST [past]
ET before RT [before 2.oo, i.e. perfect]
ET before ST [ historical ES]
Tense
(16) It was 1991; they would get married two
years later.
ST= now
RT before ST [ past]
ET after RT [ two years later; prospective]
Tense TASK
(17) John is here now.
ST =
RT ST
ET RT
ET ST
Tense
(17) John is here now.
ST = now
RT= ST [Present ]
ET = RT [“neutral’]
ET = ST [ situation on-going at ST]
Tense
(18) John leaves tomorrow.
ST=
RT ST
ET RT
ET ST
Tense
(18) John leaves tomorrow.
ST= now
RT after ST [future]
ET = RT [“neutral”]
ET after ST [non-historical ES]
Tense
(19) John came home at midnight.
ST=
RT ST
ET RT
ET ST
Tense
(19) John came home at midnight.
ST=now
RT before ST [past]
ET = RT [neutral]
ET before ST [historical ES]
Tense
(20) John has already left.
ST=
RT ST
RT ET
ET ST
Tense
(21) John has already left.
ST=NOW
RT = ST [ present/ “has”]
ET before RT [perfect]
ET before ST [historical ES]
Tense
(22) AT 10.00 John had already left.
ST =
RT ST
ET RT
ET ST
Tense
(23) AT 10.00 John had already left.
ST = now
RT before ST [past]
ET before RT [“perfect”]
ET before ST [historical ES]
Tense
(24) Next week John will visit London.
ST =
RT ST
ET RT
ET ST
Tense
(24) Next week John will visit London.
ST = now
RT after ST [ future]
ET = RT [neutral]
ET after ST [non-historical ES]
Tense
(25) Next week John will have visited London.
ST =
RT ST
ET RT
ET ST
Tense
(26) Next week John will have visited London.
ST = now
RT after ST [future]
ET before RT [perfect]
ET after ST [non-historical situation]
Tense
RT/ST: tense morphemes +…
Tense relates RT to ST
ET/RT= ?
Tense
(27) John smokes.
John is smoking.
ST=now
RT=ST [present]
Do they have the same interpretation?
Tense
John is smoking. = the situation is seen as
going on/holding at/around a point in time
RT=ST; ET at/around RT; ET at/around ST
the event may be complete/progressing
towards completion/etc. = information about
the INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE
EVENT.
Tense
The internal structure of events takes up
intervals of time in different ways:
(i) Presented as a WHOLE
(ii) Focus on their progressiveness
(iii) Focus on their iterativity
Etc.
Tense
(28) John has built a house.
John is building a house.
John is jumping up and down.
John builds a house every year.
Tense
The internal structure of events: ASPECT
Tense
ET/RT : Aspect
(29) John has left.
ET before RT [perfect]
(30) John is running.
ET at/around RT [progressive]
Tense
Temporal interpretation is COMPOSITIONAL.
= it is the mirror of the relations which obtain
between three time intervals: ST/RT/ET.
So far
A. The reference component = RT/ST< tense
morphemes + T Adv (if any). = TENSE
B. The relational component = ET/RT ,
information about the INTERNAL
STRUCTURE OF THE EVENT = ASPECT
C. The existential status of the sentence = ET/
ST
Aspect
= ST/RT < tense morpheme (+ time adv.)
= ET/RT < aspect markers + the aspectual
class of the predicate
Aspect
Aspect = ?
Aspect markers = ?
Aspectual class = ?
Aspect
Aspect informs about the contour of an event,
referring to the internal structure of situations.
It describes "the quality of an event while it is
observed by the speaker, the way in which the
speaker 'sees' the event" (Dutescu-Coliban,
1983:351).
Aspect
He was dancing.
He has fixed the car.
He was knocking at the door.
He noticed her at once.
= a way ‘of viewing the internal temporal
constituency of a situation.’ (Comrie 1976).
Aspect
complete / in progress
with/ without endpoints
single/repeated
Aspect
Aspect = non-deictic
< it does not locate the event in time. Its
interpretation is not related to ST.
tense = the ‘situation external time’
aspect =the ‘situation-internal time’
Aspect
To speak of aspect is to speak of a time-
ordering separate from tense that deals with
the internal temporal structuring, e.g. the
relative duration, inception, and completion
of verbal activities.
Aspect
He was dancing.
He was knocking at the door.
aspectual information is rendered both
morphologically and lexically.
Aspect
a. Lexical aspect / situation-type aspect
b. Grammatical aspect/ viewpoint aspect
Aspect. Viewpoint …
the speaker chooses to present/to view the
situation:
as a whole [ +perfective]
only incompletely, with a focus on one stage
of the situation. [+progressive]
= viewpoint aspect
Aspect
Viewpoint aspect is grammaticized, i.e. it has
grammatical markers:
a. [be + ing] = the imperfective// progressive
viewpoint.
b. [have + en] = the perfective viewpoint
Aspect
It was Frank’s bad leg that woke him; it was
paining him worse than ever in his old age.
Something was slithering towards him along
the dark corridor floor.
America’s anti-hunting movement is tiny by
British standards. But it is gathering
momentum.
Aspect
the sentences refer to stages of an event
focus on an internal stage/ on internal stages
which lack both the initial and the final
boundary
The situation is perceived as
open/incomplete/going on
Aspect
= the predicate denotes only a ‘time-space
slice’ (Carlson 1977) of an ‘open’ situation
whose limits are indefinite.
=the event does not end, it does not culminate,
it is simply going on. It ‘holds’ (Parsons 1993)
at RT.
Aspect
John is building a house.
I was making a cake when I remembered I
should have been somewhere else.
Q: how many possible outcomes?
Aspect
A: for each of the two sentences, there is more
than one possible outcome the progressive
has a modal value (Dowty 1981)
Aspect
the imperfective viewpoint presents
situations as open, focussing on the internal
stages of an event in progress.
It has grammatical markers in English
(i) [be – ing]
(ii) -ing
Aspect
John is dancing.
present 3rd sg , i.e. Tense and Agr.
They were dancing.
past 3rd pl.
Aspect
be= an auxiliary which carries tense and
agreement information
-ing = the grammatical marker of the
imperfective viewpoint (the progressive)
Aspect
-ing: locates an event at/around RT
John is dancing.
ST=now
RT = ST [present]
ET at/around RT [imperfective viewpoint]
ET at/around ST [open situation]
Aspect
John was dancing.
ST=
RT ST
ET RT
ET ST
Aspect
John was dancing.
ST= now
RT before ST [PAST]
ET at/around RT [imperfective viewpoint]
ET at/around ST [open situation/on-going]
Aspect :the perfective viewpoint
THE PERFECTIVE VIEWPOINT:
the situation is presented as a WHOLE , it is
“over”:
They have already washed the dishes.
John has fixed the computer.
Aspect
there grammatical markers of the perfective
viewpoint in English
[have –en]
Aspect
Whenever [have –en] is present, ET presented
as a whole and it is interpreted as instantiated
before RT.
Whether the situation is complete or not at RT
depends on the lexical meaning of the verb.
Aspect
John has fixed the computer.
John has been sick.
John has been sick for three days.
Aspect
So far:
the perfective viewpoint (-en) : ET prior to RT
the imperfective viewpoint (-ing): ET at/around
RT (or ET includes RT)
neutral viewpoint (0 marker): ET=RT.
Situation-type aspect
Situation types classify events/states in terms of
clusters of semantic features
The linguistic unit which realizes situation-types is
"the verb constellation"
Aspect
situation-type aspect represents an interaction
of:
(i) the lexical meaning of the verb
(ii) the internal and external arguments of the verb
(iii) certain adjuncts
Aspect
John ate an apple. = [+telic]
John ate popcorn. = [-telic]
the type of DO is relevant for the aspectual
value of the predicate
Aspect
Students have been discovering this library for
ages.
??John has been discovering this library for
ages.
The type of subject is relevant for the
aspectual value of the predicate
Aspect
John ran in the park. [-telic]
John ran to the park. [+telic]
Certain adjuncts are relevant for the aspectual
value of the predicate
Aspect
John is intelligent.
John knows Chinese.
John believes linguistics is fun.
= state predicates
no internal change /no dynamics
no natural endpoint (no result)
Duration
Aspect
John danced with Mary.
It was snowing.
They are eating cherries.
= activity predicates
dynamics
no natural endpoint
Duration
Aspect
He wrote a book.
They built a house.
She baked a cake.
= accomplishments
change of state
natural endpoint
duration
Aspect
Dinamo won the game on Saturday.
She noticed a spot on the tablecloth.
= achievements
Change of state
Natural endpoint
No duration
Aspect
Situation-type +/- +/- +/- Examples
stative durative telic
STATES + + - be tall; stand,
sit; know, love
ACTIVITIES - + - run, dance,
rain, snow
ACHIEVEMENTS - - + notice, spot,
win a game
ACCOMPLISHMENTS - + + build a house,
draw a horse
Aspect
John sneezed.
They hiccupped.
She knocked on the door.
The child jumped up and down.
+/- durative?
+/- stative?
+/- telic?
Aspect
[-stative]
[-durative]
[-telic]
= semelfactives
< Latin semel (once, a single time)
< Latin factum (event, occurrence)
