The grammar of the english verb phrase part 86 docx

clauses with temporal adverbials12.1 Deicticvs nondeictic time-specifying adverbials 591 12.2 Single-zone adverbials, multi-zone adverbials and zone-independent 12.3 Homogeneousvs hetero

clauses with temporal adverbials

12.1 Deicticvs nondeictic time-specifying adverbials 591 12.2 Single-zone adverbials, multi-zone adverbials and zone-independent

12.3 Homogeneousvs heterogeneous time-specifying adverbials 594 12.4 (Non)inclusive heterogeneous time-specifying adverbials 595

II Temporal adverbials and the choice between past tense and present perfect 596

12.7 Noninclusive heterogeneous pre-present-zone adverbials 599 12.8 Noninclusive homogeneous pre-present-zone adverbials 601

12.15 The present perfect with adverbials referring to the present 620 12.16 Tense choice with actualization adverbials 622 12.17 Tense choice with adverbials indicating a recent indefinite bygone time 623

590 12 Preteritevs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials

Abstract

In this chapter we explore the ways in which

the presence of a temporal adverbial in a clause

interacts with the choice between the (absolute)

past tense and the present perfect (In chapter 6

we have already discussed the contrast between

these two tenses in clauses without a

time-speci-fying adverbial.)

In part I (⫽ sections 12.1⫺4) we identify the

relevant types of time-specifying adverbials: (a)

deictic versus nondeictic adverbials; (b)

single-zone adverbials, multi-single-zone adverbials and single-

zone-independent adverbials; (c) homogeneous versus heterogeneous adverbials; and (d) inclusive ver-sus noninclusive heterogeneous adverbials

In part I (⫽ sections 12.5⫺18) we address the compatibility of these various types of time-specifying adverbials with the past tense and the present perfect For example, we address the question whetherjust (now) combines with the

past tense or with the present perfect (or with both)

A summary of chapter 12 is given in part III

I Relevant classes of temporal adverbials

Temporal adverbials can be categorized as ‘deictic’ (e g yesterday, the day before) or

‘nondeictic’ (e g at some time or other, at five o’clock) depending on whether or not

they are related to a temporal ‘anchor’ The former can be further categorized as either

‘absolute deictics’ (e g.yesterday) or ‘relative deictics’ (e g the day before) depending

on whether the temporal anchor is t0or another time, and as either ‘single-zone’ adver-bials (e g.yesterday) or ‘multi-zone’ adverbials (e g today) depending on whether they

refer to only one absolute time-zone (e g the past zone) or to a time span which includes the present zone plus the post-present and the pre-present or the past Nondeic-tic adverbials are automaNondeic-tically ‘zone-independent’

Temporal adverbials can also be categorized as ‘homogeneous’ (e g in 1983) or

‘heterogeneous’ (e g.from 1983 to 1986) depending on whether or not they can refer

to the time interval (Adv-time) in its entirety as well as to any subpart of it Within the latter class, we can formally distinguish between ‘inclusive’ adverbials, introduced

by (with)in, and ‘noninclusive’ ones.

12.1 Deictic vs nondeictic time-specifying adverbials

12.1.1 Time-specifying adverbials, including the ‘bifunctional adverbials’

(which specify both duration and time ⫺ see 2.22.3), are either deictic(

an-chored) or nondeictic(unanchored) Only in the former case is the

Adv-time related to a given ‘temporal anchor’

I heard that name yesterday.(deictic: yesterday means ‘the day before t 0 ’ The

tempo-ral anchor is t 0 )

I had heard that name the day before.(deictic: the day before means ‘the day before

some orientation time’ The temporal anchor is not t 0 but a given past orientation

time.)

I’ve heard that name at some time or other.(nondeictic: the Adv-time specified by

at some time or other is not linked to a given temporal anchor.)

He often {gets up / got up} at five o’clock (nondeictic Adv-time: at five o’clock is

naturally understood as belonging to particular days, but the days in question are

not anchored to a given orientation time.)

Depending on whether the temporal anchor is t0or another time, a deictic

time-specifying adverbial is an ‘absolute deictic’ or a ‘relative deictic’ expression

12.1.2 A deictic time-specifying adverbial is anabsolute deicticif the

Adv-time that it indicates is anchored to t0; otherwise it is a relative deictic

592 12 Preteritevs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials

Examples of absolute deictic time-specifying adverbials are:today, this morn-ing, tomorrow, tonight, yesterday, three weeks ago, etc Adv-times which have

t0as (expressed or inferred) endpoint are also absolute deictics:since last week, until now, etc Examples of relative deictic time-specifying adverbials are: the same day, that morning, the next day, the day before, two days earlier, etc An

Adv-time that is anchored to a time which is itself anchored to t0can be re-ferred to as anrelative-absolute deictic Compare:

The letter I postedyesterday hasn’t arrived (absolute deictic Adv-time)

The letter I postedthe day before yesterday hasn’t arrived (relative-absolute deictic Adv-time)

The letter she had postedtwo days earlier hadn’t arrived (relative deictic Adv-time)

There are also adverbials that can be used as either absolute or relative deictics:

This has never happened {in the past / so far}, and will never happen again in the

future.(used as absolute deictics)

This had never happened {in the past / so far}, and would never happen again in

the future.(used as relative deictics)

He {will / would} tell her everything in three days’ time (absolute deictic when combining with will, relative deictic when combining with would)

12.1.3 Deictic time-specifying adverbials like yesterday or in those days are

‘definite’ referring expressions, i e the speaker assumes (or pretends) that the referent time is identifiable to the hearer, or that the hearer is at least familiar with the referring expression (which is then ‘attributive’ in the sense of Donnel-lan (1966)⫺ see 11.1.2.) In other words, the use of such a deictic time-specify-ing adverbial is assumed to be sufficient for the hearer to know or infer the temporal location of both the ‘anchor’ and the Adv-time that is anchored to it Deictic expressions like just, some time ago, recently, a long time ago, etc.

are less definite: while the anchoring time is still assumed to be identifiable, the temporal location of the Adv-time is less so, because the temporal distance between the anchoring time and the anchored Adv-time is not specified in a very precise way These adverbials represent a category of adverbials that are neither (fully) definite nor (fully) indefinite

As to nondeictic time-specifying adverbials, some refer in a definite way, whereas others do not Compare:

I met himat some time or other (indefinite nondeictic Adv-time)

I met himin 2002 (definite nondeictic Adv-time)

12.1.4 A definite nondeictic time-specifying adverbial has fixed time refer-ence That is, its temporal referent remains the same irrespective of the context

in which the adverbial is used Compare:

I met heron the day that Bryan was buried (definite nondeictic Adv-time with fixed

time reference)

Our son was bornin 2003 (definite nondeictic Adv-time with fixed time reference)

One day he got seriously hurt in an accident (indefinite nondeictic Adv-time with

(necessarily) non-fixed time reference)

12.2 Single-zone adverbials, multi-zone adverbials and

zone-independent adverbials

12.2.1 Single-zone adverbialsare deictic adverbials which refer to only one

‘absolute zone’ (see 2.37) For example, ‘past-zone adverbials’ specify a bygone

Adv-time which can only be interpreted as disconnected from the present

time-sphere (e g.yesterday, last week, in 1983) and which are therefore incompatible

with the present perfect:

My aunt {died / *has died} {yesterday / last week / in 1983}

‘Pre-present-zone adverbials’ specify a period up to t0(e g so far, since then)

and can therefore combine with the present perfect but not with the past tense:

Since then we have been left completely in the dark

Up until now we have collected £ 543

Similarly, right now is a ‘present-zone adverbial’, and tomorrow is a

‘post-present-zone adverbial’

12.2.2 multi-zone adverbials are deictic adverbials which specify a time

span which includes the present zone (⫽ t0) as well as the post-present and the

pre-present or the past, e g.today Such adverbials are compatible with various

absolute tenses, depending on the zone that receives the temporal focus

Johnis in London today (temporal focus on the present)

Johnhas been in London today (temporal focus on the pre-present part of today)

Johnwas in London today (temporal focus on a past time in the course of today)

Johnwill be in London today (temporal focus on a post-present time in the course

of today)

Needless to say, multi-zone time-specifying adverbials are always

homogen-eous (See the discussion of I had a copious breakfast today in 2.38.2.)

12.2.3 zone-independent adverbialsspecify a time which is not linked up

with one particular zone, e g at five o’clock Such adverbials are compatible

with various absolute tenses, depending on the zone that receives the

tempo-ral focus

594 12 Preteritevs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials

He left at five o’clock

I will leave at five o’clock

I’m still in bed at five o’clock

It goes without saying that a zone-independent adverbial is nondeictic in itself, but can only be meaningfully used if the tense of the sentence and the context

in which it is used identify the absolute zone and the implicit Adv-time in relation to which it should be interpreted

12.3 Homogeneous vs heterogeneous time-specifying

adverbials

Within the class of time-specifying adverbials we can also distinguish between

‘homogeneous’ and ‘heterogeneous’ (or ‘nonhomogeneous’) time-specifying ad-verbials In other words, Adv-times may be (represented and / or interpreted as) homogeneous or heterogeneous.1Ahomogeneous Adv-timeis a durative time interval that is understood as being the same all the way through Such a homo-geneous Adv-time isdissective This means that any part of the Adv-time can

be referred to by the same adverbial as refers to the Adv-time as a whole In other words, it is criterial of a homogeneous time-specifying adverbial that the adver-bial establishing the Adv-time can also be used to refer to any portion of the time span in question For example, the adverbialin 1983 can be used not only to refer

to the complete time span which began on 1 January 1983 and ended on 31 De-cember 1983 but also to talk about any day in that period:

In 1983 he still lived in Paris

My father died in an accident in 1983

In the former sentence,in 1983 may well refer to the twelve-month period as a

whole; in the latter we can only interpret it as referring to a particular day in that period

By contrast, a time-specifying adverbial is heterogeneous (i e represents

an Adv-time as heterogeneous) if it can only refer to the Adv-time as a whole, not to any smaller portion of it For example:

From 1983 to 1986 I lived in Paris.

*My father died in an accidentfrom 1983 to 1986.

1 Since the property of being homogeneous or heterogeneous is a property of the Adv-time determined by the nature of the Adv-time adverbial describing it, the labels ‘homogen-eous’ and ‘heterogen‘homogen-eous’ will be applied both to the Adv-time and to the adverbial denoting it This is similar to the practice (introduced in 1.44) of speaking of (non)-bounded situations as well as (non)(non)-bounded clauses.