Book ChapterDOI
The syntax and interpretation of temporal expressions in English
TLDR
This paper presents an analysis of temporal specification that is based directly on Reichenbach’s account, and attempts to show that they can be reconciled with the facts of English.Abstract:
The only obligatory temporal expression in English is tense, yet Hans Reichenbach (1947) has argued convincingly that the simplest sentence is understood in terms of three temporal notions. Additional possibilities for a simple sentence are limited: English sentences have one time adverbial each. It is not immediately clear how to resolve these matters, that is, how (if at all) Reichenbach’s account can be reconciled with the facts of English. This paper attempts to show that they can be reconciled, and presents an analysis of temporal specification that is based directly on Reichenbach’s account.read more
Citations
More filters
Lexical Functional Grammar A Formal System for Grammatical Representation
TL;DR: This work has adopted the Competence Hypothesis as a methodological principle, and assumes that an explana tory model of human language performance will incorporate a theoreti cally justi ed representation of the native speaker s linguistic knowledge a grammar as a component separate both from the computational mech anisms that operate on it a processor and from other nongrammatical processing parameters that might in uence the processor s behavior.
Journal ArticleDOI
Tense variation in narrative
TL;DR: In this article, a quantitative analysis of the past and the historical-present tenses as alternative ways of referring to past events in narrative is presented, showing how the organization of narrative delimits the area in which the historical present can occur, and how various structural and functional constraints restrict (or favor) switching between the two tenses.
Journal ArticleDOI
The effects of aspectual class on the temporal structure of discourse: semantics or pragmatics?
TL;DR: In cases where such indicators are absent, it has been observed by Jespersen, and in more detail in a series of recent articles by Helen Dry, that the aspectual classes of the predicates in the discourse seem to determine these temporal relationships.
Book
Tense, attitudes, and scope
TL;DR: This work analyzes the relationship between tense and temporal adverbials in simple sentences and the syntax and semantics of tenses in English and Japanese.
References
More filters
Book
Constraints on variables in syntax
TL;DR: This paper is intended to provide a history of modern language pedagogical practices in the United States and its applications in the context of modern linguistics.
Book
Studies in Linguistic Semantics
TL;DR: Buku ini merupakan kumpulan makalah hasil konferensi tentang linguistik semantik di Universitas Columbia as mentioned in this paper.