The grammar of the english verb phrase part 117 pdf

For example, inNext time I will say that I was ill the day before, the form was locates its situation time in a pseudo-absolute past zone which is defined relative to the situation time

stole Maud’s wallet it is presupposed that there is someone who stole Maud’s

wallet, hence that Maud’s wallet was stolen

Presupposition: proposition which is assumed to be true by the speaker when

he makes his utterance, in other words, a pragmatic condition which is

as-sumed to be fulfilled Thus, both I closed the door and I didn’t close the door

presuppose that the door was not closed at the relevant time This illustrates

a criterial property of presuppositions, viz that they remain unaffected if the

clause is made negative (except if the negation is of the metalinguistic kind)

Preterite: tense locating a situation time in a domain in the past time-sphere.

See also past tense (a)–(b)

Principle of Unmarked Temporal Interpretation: strategy for the interpretation

of temporal W-relations when two or more clauses with an absolute tense form

follow each other and there is no linguistic or contextual indication of the

temporal W-relation(s) holding between the situations referred to In that case,

the (non)boundedness of any two consecutive clauses is crucial, in that two

bounded clauses are normally interpreted in terms of iconic sequencing, two

nonbounded clauses are normally interpreted in terms of W-simultaneity, and

a combination of a bounded and an unbounded clause is normally interpreted

in terms of inclusion (i e the nonbounded situation includes the bounded one)

Prior (to): anterior (to)

Process: type of dynamic situation (i e a dynamic situation type), namely a

situation which is not controlled by an agent and which is (conceived of as)

durative and evolving, i e as involving incremental change that implies a scale

of some sort (e g changing, getting dark, diminishing) In other words, a

pro-cess is a situation type that is dynamic but not agentive and whose main

charac-teristic is change, i e a development, a change of state or a transition into a

state (e g.The car slowed down; The man was dying).

Process verb: verb denoting a process, e g. change, grow, mature, die, widen,

slow down, improve, thicken, deteriorate, strengthen, diminish, darken,

deepen, develop, increase.

Progressive aspect: the only type of grammatical aspect that is to be found in

English, i e the only aspect that is expressed by a special verb form

Pro-gressive aspect means that the speaker uses a special verb form to express

progressive meaning, i e to represent the actualization of a situation as

‘ongo-ing’ (i e as in progress at or throughout a given vantage time) Also called

‘continuous’ or ‘durative’ aspect

Progressive form: verb form which consists of a form of be followed by the

present participle (as inJohn was walking home) and which is used to express

progressive meaning Also called ‘continuous form’

Progressive meaning: the idea that the situation referred to is viewed as ongoing

at or throughout a given vantage time Dynamic verbs use the progressive verb form to express this meaning

Progressive present: progressive form of the present tense.

Proposition: the semantic contents of a clause when one disregards the

seman-tic contributions of tense, aspect and modality Thus, the proposition ‘John come at five’ underlies both John will come at five and John came at five.

Similarly, both John is running and John has run are possible expressions of the proposition ‘John run’ A sentence likeJohn came early can be referred to

as a ‘tensed proposition’, because its meaning is the combination of the propo-sition ‘John come early’ and the meaning of the absolute past tense

Pseudo-absolute past zone (or pseudo-absolute past time-sphere): time-zone

which is past relative to a pseudo-zero-point For example, inNext time I will say that I was ill the day before, the form was locates its situation time in a

pseudo-absolute past zone (which is defined relative to the situation time of

will say, which is the central orientation time of a post-present domain and is

therefore treated as a pseudo-zero-point)

Pseudo-absolute-relative tense form: a tense form whose basic use is as an

absolute-relative tense form, but which now expresses a two-part relation with

a basic orientation time which is not the temporal zero-point (t0) but a post-present pseudo-zero-point For example, the basic use of the future perfect is

to express a two-part relation between a situation time and t0, as inI will have left on time, but the future perfect is used as a ‘pseudo-absolute-relative’ tense

in [He will say that] he will have finished before 5 o’clock In this sentence,

the origin of the T-posteriority relation expressed bywill (i e the basic

orienta-tion time) is not the (real) zero-point but a post-present pseudo-t0 (viz the situation time ofwill say)

Pseudo-absolute tense form: a past, present perfect, present or future tense

form that relates its situation time to a pseudo-zero-point rather than to the real temporal zero-point For example: was in [Next time you see him John will again say that] he was thirsty the night before In this example, was

repre-sents the being thirsty not as past relative to the (real) zero-point but rather as past relative to the post-present time referred to by will say, which is treated

as if it were a zero-point (i e as a pseudo-zero-point)

Pseudo-absolute zone: cover term for any of the four portions of time that are

defined in direct relation to a pseudo-zero-point (i e a post-present time which

is treated as if it were the zero-point): the pseudo-past zone, the pseudo-pre-present zone, the pseudo-pseudo-pre-present zone and the pseudo-post-pseudo-pre-present zone See also Pseudo-t -System

Pseudo-cleft (or pseudo-cleft sentence, pseudo-cleft construction):

specifica-tional copular sentence in which the variable is expressed by a wh-clause

pro-cessed as subject and the value constituent is propro-cessed as subject complement,

e g.What I gave him was a book (This is interpreted as ‘the x which I gave

him was: a book’.) We speak of an inverted pseudo-cleft when the nominal

relative clause (representing the variable) follows the constituent expressing the

value, as inA book was what I gave him.

Pseudo-past subdomain: temporal subdomain forming part of a post-present

domain and created by a pseudo-absolute past tense form, which locates a

situation time in a pseudo-past zone, i e in a time-zone viewed as past with

respect to, and as disconnected from, the central orientation time (treated as

a pseudo-zero-point) of that post-present domain For example, were staying

establishes such a pseudo-past subdomain in Sooner or later the police will

find out that you were staying here today, and not in London.

Pseudo-past zone: (1) time-zone viewed as past with respect to, and as

discon-nected from, the central orientation time (treated as a pseudo-zero-point) of a

post-present domain For example, in Sooner or later the police will find out

that you were here today, the tense form were locates the time of the situation

referred to in a pseudo-past zone (The situation in question may be interpreted

as W-posterior to the real zero-point, but that relation is not expressed by the

past tense form.); (2) A pseudo-past zone can also be defined relative to a

pseudo-zero-point which is the central orientation time of a

pseudo-post-pres-ent subdomain

Pseudo-post-present subdomain: (1) temporal subdomain forming part of a

post-present domain and created by a pseudo-absolute future tense form, which

locates a situation time in a pseudo-post-present zone, i e in a time-zone

viewed as future relative to the central orientation time (treated as a

pseudo-zero-point) of that post-present domain For example, in I will announce

to-morrow that, if I lose, I will leave the country for good, the future tense form

will leave establishes a pseudo-post-present subdomain within the post-present

domain established bywill announce; (2) subdomain whose central orientation

time is treated as a pseudo-zero-point because it is either T-simultaneous or

T-posterior to the central orientation time of a post-present domain or of

an-other pseudo-post-present subdomain

Pseudo-post-present zone: time-zone viewed as future with respect to the

central orientation time (treated as a pseuzero-point) of a post-present

do-main For example, inI will announce tomorrow that I will leave the country

for good, the future tense form will leave locates its situation time in a

time-zone which is treated as post-present relative to a pseudo-zero-point, which is

the post-present time of the announcement Any situation time located in a

pseudo-post-present zone (e g the situation time of will leave in the above

example) is also treated as a pseudo-t0and is therefore the central orientation time of a pseudo-post-present subdomain of its own

Pseudo-pre-present subdomain: (1) temporal subdomain forming part of a

post-present domain created by a situation time that is located in a period leading up to (and not felt to be divorced from) the central orientation time (i e the pseudo-zero-point) of that post-present domain For example, the pres-ent perfect tense form have left in Who will look after you when Brad and Sybil have left? is used to locate the time of the situation of leaving in a

pseudo-pre-present subdomain; (2) A pseudo-pseudo-pre-present subdomain may also be a subdomain within a pseudo-post-present subdomain (e g the subdomain es-tablished by have left in Mother will ask you who will look after you when Brad and Sybil have left).

Pseudo-pre-present zone: (1) time-zone viewed as leading up to the central

orientation time (treated as a pseudo-zero-point) of a post-present domain In [If you leave tonight, the police will only discover tomorrow that] you have left, the present perfect tense form have left locates the time of the situation

referred to in a pseudo-pre-present zone, i e in a period leading up to the time

of the future discovering (The situation in question may be interpreted as W-posterior to the real zero-point, but that relation is not expressed by the present perfect tense form.); (2) A pseudo-pre-present zone may also be a zone forming part of a pseudo-post-present subdomain Thus, inMother will ask you who will look after you when Brad and Sybil have left, the form have left locates

its situation time in the pseudo-pre-present zone that is defined relative to the situation time of will look [after you], which functions as a pseudo-t0 and establishes a pseudo-post-present subdomain within the post-present domain established bywill ask.

Pseudo-present time: a post-present time that is treated as if it were the

tempo-ral zero-point A time is a pseudo-present time if (a) it is the centtempo-ral orientation time of a post-present domain or (b) it is a time that is simultaneous or posterior to that central time, or (c) it is a time that is simultaneous or T-posterior to a time of the kind mentioned in (b), etc

Pseudo-present subdomain: (1) temporal subdomain forming part of a

post-present domain and created by a pseudo-absolute post-present tense form, which represents a situation time as T-simultaneous (⫽ coinciding) with the central orientation time of a post-present domain (That central orientation time is treated as if it were the zero-point, i e as a pseudo-zero-point.) For example,

in [If we hide the money there] the police will never find out where it is, the

present tense formis creates a pseudo-present subdomain within the

post-pres-ent domain established bywill find out; (2) A pseudo-present subdomain may

also be a subdomain within a pseudo-post-present subdomain Thus, in [Next

time Tim runs away] John will tell his parents that he will tell them in due

time where Tim is, the form is expresses a pseudo-present subdomain within

the pseudo-post-present subdomain established bywill tell.

Pseudo-present zone: time-zone viewed as coinciding with a pseudo-zero-point

(i e with a post-present time which is treated as if it were the zero-point)

Pseudo-t 0 -System: system of tense forms that can be used to express a

T-rela-tion in a post-present domain This system, which is based on a shift of

tempo-ral perspective (since the centtempo-ral orientation time of the domain is treated as if

it were the temporal zero-point), comprises the pseudo-absolute tenses, which

locate a situation time in one of the pseudo-absolute time-zones, which are

defined relative to the post-present central time of orientation (which is treated

as a pseudo-zero-point) As pseudo-absolute tenses we use the preterite or

pres-ent perfect to express T-anteriority, the prespres-ent tense to express T-simultaneity

and the future tense (or a futurish form) to express T-posteriority Each use of

a pseudo-absolute tense establishes a pseudo-absolute subdomain, which can

be expanded like a ‘normal’ domain established by an absolute tense form For

example, in [If we kill him tonight and put his body in the freezer for two

days] the police will think that he was killed when he came home on Tuesday,

the form will think establishes a post-present domain, whose central

orienta-tion time (⫽ the time of the thinking) is treated as a pseudo-t0, i e as if it

were the temporal zero-point The situation time referred to by was killed

(which is W-posterior to the real t0) is located in the pseudo-absolute past

time-sphere (i e in a time-zone that is past relative to the pseudo-t0), where it

establishes a pseudo-absolute past subdomain The relative past tense form

came expresses T-simultaneity in that subdomain (In a true past domain, it is

also the relative past tense that is used to express T-simultaneity, e g.He was

killed when he came home.)

Pseudo-zero-point (or pseudo-t 0): orientation time which is not the temporal

zero-point but is treated as if it were t0 A pseudo-t0 is the central orientation

time of a post-present domain or a situation time that is T-simultaneous with

that or which is the central orientation time of a pseudo-post-present

subdo-main For example, in Next time he will say that he is ill, the central time of

orientation (⫽ the time of saying) of the post-present domain is treated as a

pseudo-t0 This explains why the present tense (is) is used to represent the

situation time of thethat-clause as T-simultaneous with it.

Punctual (or nondurative, momentary): (a) ontological feature of a

situation-template (as expressed by, e g the verb phraseknocked at the door) which is

conceived of as needing no more than a moment to actualize By extension,

the term can also be applied to a verb phrase denoting such a situation-template

(e g.knock at the door) or to the actualization of a situation that is conceived

of as having no (or hardly any) duration (b) The termpunctual is also applied

to time-specifying adverbials that indicate a specific moment in time, i e a time that has no duration to speak of (e g at five), as well as to duration

adverbials that indicate an interval that has no duration to speak of (e g for

a split second).

Punctual situation verb (phrase): verb or verb phrase which denotes a punctual

situation-template

Punctual time-specifying adverbial: time-specifying adverbial which specifies an

Adv-time that has (virtually) no duration (e g.at five o’clock).

Pure duration adverbial: temporal adverbial which (unlike a time-specifying

adverbial or a bifunctional temporal adverbial) does not identify an Adv-time but only specifies duration, more specifically the duration of the full situation (e g [John was here] for a couple of hours).

Pure future: what is expressed by the future tense if the speaker merely makes

a prediction, i e if he just expresses that he thinks that a particular situation will actualize in the post-present

Quantificational constitution reading (or interpretation): cover term for

dura-tion-quantifying constitution readings (e g Nearly a year has gone by since then) and number-quantifying constitution readings (e g How many times have you met him in the past week?).

Recency reading (or interpretation): a particular reading of the indefinite

per-fect, viz that in which the pre-present situation time is lying close to the tempo-ral zero-point There is a recency reading if a sentence in the present perfect is used to convey ‘hot news’ (see hot news interpretation) or in cases in which the present perfect combines with an adverb likejust, recently or this minute,

which establishes a recent indefinite bygone Adv-time (e g I have recently heard that vitamin A may be linked to osteoporosis).

Recent indefinite bygone time: Adv-time indicated by one of the adverbials

recently, just, this minute, lately.

Reduced cleft (or reduced it -cleft): cleft sentence whose wh-clause is deleted

because it would only repeat the contents of the preceding subclause Thus,it’s you in If anyone can do it, it’s you (which is interpreted as ‘If there is one x

who can do it, that x is you’) is short forit’s you who can do it.

Referent: the entity (thing, person, actualization of a situation, etc.) that a

linguistic expression (viz a word, phrase or clause) refers to This entity usually belongs to an extralinguistic possible world (such as the actual world) Its

existence in that world is affirmed, denied, questioned, hypothesized or

presup-posed InJohn left, the referent of the noun phrase John is a particular person

known as having the nameJohn The referent of a finite clause is the

actualiza-tion of a situaactualiza-tion

Referential noun phrase: when used in Donnellan’s (1966) sense, said of a noun

phrase which has definite reference in the sense that the speaker assumes the

hearer to know the identity of the referent of the phrase For example, in [I’d

like to hear more about] the trip you’ve made, the hearer is assumed to be able

to know which particular trip is being referred to The speaker could therefore

also use other NPs to refer to the trip in question, such as your trip to Italy.

Regular verb (or weak verb): verb that forms its past tense and its past

partici-ple by adding the suffix -ed to the verb stem (which then sometimes has to

undergo a minor spelling adjustment), e g play – played; love – loved; cry –

cried, etc.

Relative-absolute deictic time-specifying adverbial: time-specifying adverbial

which indicates an Adv-time that is anchored to a time which is itself anchored

to the temporal zero-point, e g.the day before yesterday.

Relative deictic time-specifying adverbial: time-specifying adverbial which

indi-cates an Adv-time that is anchored to a time other than the temporal

zero-point, e g.the same day, that morning, the next day, the day before, two days

earlier, etc.

Relative past tense: past tense which expresses T-simultaneity in a past domain.

The semantics of the relative past tense is: ‘The situation time is represented

as T-simultaneous with an orientation time in a past domain (or in a past

subdomain or in a pseudo-past subdomain)’

Relative tense: tense which does not T-relate the time of a situation directly to

the temporal zero-point but T-relates it to some other time of orientation A

relative tense always indicates a temporal relation within a temporal domain

For example, the past perfect formhad left in I knew he had left early expresses

anteriority within the past domain established by the absolute past tense

form knew.

Repetitive (or iterative) aspect: (1) kind of grammatical aspect, characterized

by the fact that the speaker uses a special verb form to represent a situation as

a hypersituation consisting of a number of subsituations of the same kind (2)

In this work we also speak of repetitive or iterative ‘aspectual meaning’ when

a situation repeats itself on different occasions, as inI’ve only been in this town

three times.

Repetitive habit: habit which involves multiple instantiations of the situation

referred to None of these instantiations need actually be going on at the time