TAM IB 2012 Intro & Tense

TENSE, ASPECT, MOOD

Introduction

TAM

DOMAIN OF INQUIRY:

The temporal-aspectual system of English

Tense

Aspect

Modal verbs

Domain of inquiry

LINGUISTICS

= the scientific study of language

= scientific work is guided by:

empirical considerations (observation of data)

theoretical concepts

Domain of inquiry

“ In linguistics, as in other sciences, there is an essential interaction between data analysis and theory formation: an adequate analysis of the data of some particular language is impossible without some general theoretical insight into the principles underlying the structure and functioning of language in general.” (Dik 1989 in Haegeman 2005: 15)

Domain of inquiry

Our data:

Tense

Aspect

modal verbs

Domain of inquiry

Our general theoretical insight

for morpho-syntax < generative linguistics

for temporal-aspectual interpretation < a slightly changed version of Reichenbach(1947)

Syllabus

Part I: Tense and AspectThe theoretical frameworkTenseAspect

– Grammatical aspect– Lexical aspect– A unified analysis

A unified analysis of tense and aspect

Syllabus

Part II:

The temporal-aspectual system of English

Mid-term test

Syllabus

Part III : Modal verbs

morpho-syntactic characteristics

semantic properties

final test

Syllabus

Seminar

Seminar TEST I

the allomorphs of /z/ and /d/

Syllabus

Seminar

Seminar TEST II :

aspectual classes of predicates

Syllabus

Seminar test III:

Irregular verbs

Grading policy

Seminar tests: max. 30 p. [compulsory]

Mid-term test: max. 30 p. [written exam]

Final test: max. 30 p. [written exam]

Today

The theoretical framework

TAM: theoretical framework

(1) a. John arrived at the station.

b. A snake was hissing in the grass.

c. He has shown the pictures to all of us.


Sentences are made of lexical and functionalelements


Lexical Category Examples

NOUN (N) [+ N], [– V] Mary, book, courage, syntax

VERB (V) [– N], [+ V] dance, study, read, sleep

ADJECTIVE (A) [+ N], [+ V] kind, good, beautiful, intelligent

ADVERB (ADV) probably, certainly, noisily, incredibly

PREPOSITION (P) [– N], [– V] on, under, with, for, in

i.


Functional categories Examples

i.DETERMINERS (Det) ii.the, a, this, that

iii.INFLECTION (I) (= umbrella term for Tense, Agreement, Aspect, Mood)

iv.Tense: -ed, Aspect: -ing, -en, Agreement: -s, infinitival to.

v.DEGREE (Deg) more, most, -er,-est

vi.COMPLEMENTISERS (Comp) that, whether, for

vii.


lexical categories: substantive meaning

functional categories perform a grammatical function: they “glue” the content words together


Functional categories:

“identify” / bind the referential argument of theirlexical complement

e.g. the referential argument of verbs: e(vent)


Davidson (1966) = verbs have an event variable among their arguments

e.g. cut <1,2, e>

Inflection = the functional domain of the verb

= Tense identifies /”binds” e


(4) a. He has written a book.

b. He is writing a book.

c. He has been writing letters since 4.00

(5) a. He has been here since 4.00.

b. He has noticed an error.


(6) a. John entered the president’s office. The president sat behind a huge desk.

b. John entered the president’s office.

The president walked over to him.


(7) a. Tom ran in the park (for two hours)

b. Tom ran to the park (in two hours)

c. Tom ran a mile (in two hours)

(8) a. Tom was dancing.

b. Tom has danced.

c. Tom has been dancing.


our understanding of events is compositionally determined by the content of the verb-related functional categories and the lexical conceptual structure of the verb constellation/ at the level of the clause


The Principle of Compositionality: the meaning of a complex expression is determined by the meanings of its constituent expressions and the rules used to combine them (its structure)


The Principle of Compositionality

entails that the whole expression is built from constituents combined by syntactic rules

= what each part means + how they are put together

= syntax together with lexical semantics determines the entire meaning of the complex expression

Gottlob Frege (1848-1925)

Mathematician

Logician

philosopher

“Uber Sinn und Bedeutung”

(On Sense and Reference, 1982) –


Important:

The meaning of a constituent part = the meaning which that part always contributes to an expression, regardless of context


e.g. arrived , combed, danced

/d/ = past tense

e.g. arrives, dances

/z/ = 3rd person singular of the present tense of the indicative


(9)

I have just talked to John. He asked about you.

I have just talked to John. He has asked about you.


I have just talked to John. He asked about you.

*He has asked about you.


(10)

A: Have you read “Love and Summer”?

B: Yes, I have. But I didn’t like it.// I haven’t liked it.


(10)

A: Have you read “Love and Summer”?

B: Yes, I have. But I didn’t like it.

*I haven’t liked it.


Temporal interpretation

< the integration of

the event(s) of a sentence in the event structure of

the preceding text.

Important

We will be studying the temporal-aspectual system of English at the interface between morpho-syntax and semantics

+ discourse

TENSE (I)

The framework

Outline

1. The police arrested many young people.

2. Foreign journalists are not allowed to enter the country.

3. He was a dictator. He will be punished for his deeds.

TAM: TENSE

TENSE

Temporal meaning

morpho-syntactic formatives which carry tense information

the tense feature (relevant for the computational system)

TAM: TENSE

Tense: locates events in time

TENSE

ST = speech time// UT= utterance time

(4) You studied Phonetics and Phonology on the first semester.

= [e] is located ....to ST/UT

= [e] is located prior to ST/UT

TENSE

(5) We will meet again next Thursday.

[e] located ... ST/UT

[e] located after ST/UT

The event is located in time relative to....

The event is located in time relative to ST

TENSE

ST =

a central point for temporal interpretation

TENSE

TENSE= a deictic category

< Gr. deiktikos= able to show

e.g. past tense = before ST (=NOW)future tense = after ST (=NOW)

PAST NOW FUTURE

TENSE

Compare to:

(i) this/that

(ii) here/there

(iii) Personal pronouns (1st and 2nd person)

(iv) yesterday, tomorrow, today

TENSE

(6) John arrived.

(7) John lives in Bucharest.

How do you know whether the event is located at/before/after ST?

TENSE

John arrived. /d/ = past tense morpheme

John lives in Bucharest/z/ = present tense morpheme

Tense

In English there are distinct morphological markers for PRES and PAST

TENSE

MORPHEME

A minimal atomic unit endowed with meaning

// the smallest individually meaningful element

TENSE

MORPHEMES:

(i) Bound

Arrived // playing

(ii) Free

the book / has left

TENSE

Morphemes:

(i) Inflectional: arrives/ arrived

(ii) Derivational : nicely

TENSE

Morphemes:

(i) Inflectional: arrives/ arrived

Lexemes have a fair number of word forms

the set of word forms that belongs to a lexeme= paradigm

TENSE

Tense has grammatical markers in English, i.e. it is grammaticized.

Q: So far: /z/ and /d/

TENSE

is there a future tense marker in English as well?

TENSE

A1: will

The temporal system of English is a three-term system:

/z/ =present

/d/ = past

will = future

TENSE

A2: no, there is no future tense morpheme in English

will = always a modal verb

The temporal system of English: a two-term system:

/z/ present

/d/ past

Last week...

Tense locates events in time

Tense is a deictic category ( ST!)

Tense is a grammatical category in English

/d/ = past tense

/z/ = present tense

will= ?

Today

Tense markers in English cont.

The role of time adverbials

A framework of analysis (<Reichenbach1947)

Tense morphemes

So far...

/d/ = PAST

/z/ = PRESENT

One morpheme = one meaning

TENSE

TASK1: Consider:

(9) a. leaves

b. talks

c. teaches

TENSE

a. leaves /z/

b. talks /s/

c. teaches /iz/

/z/, /s/,/iz/ = variants of the morpheme /z/

allomorphs

TENSE

Allomorphs = phonologically conditioned alternants of a morpheme

TENSE

Task 2:

(10) teach, catch, reach

wish, blush, flush

lose, rise, buzz, seize

face, crease, hiss

judge, budge, manage

TENSE

teach, catch, reach /ʧ/wish, blush, flush / ʃ /

lose, rise, buzz, seize /z/face, crease, hiss /s/judge, budge, manage /ʤ/

After /ʧ/ /ʃ / /ʤ/ /z/ /s/ /iz/

sibilants

TENSE

Task 3:

(11) paints, hates, dates

talks, sinks, barks

laughs, coughs

wipes, keeps, peeps

TENSE

paints, hates, dates /t/

talks, sinks, barks /k/

laughs, coughs /f/

wipes, keeps, peeps /p/

After /t/, /k/,/f/,/p/ = /s/

voiceless segments

TENSE

Task 3:

(12) leaves, sings, refers, digs, cries

TENSE

/z/ = elsewhere

rises, hates, loves+ the same tense morpheme, i.e. the same meaning, the same function BUT different pronunciation

TENSE

Task 4

(13) started, skidded, mended

TENSE

/id/ after /t/ and /d/

TENSE

Task 5

(14) pushed, slipped, asked, laughed, hissed, watched

TENSE

/t/ after

/f/, /k/, /p/, /s/, /ʧ/, /ʃ/

TENSE

/d/ : elsewhere

loved, weaved, stayed, rowed, banned.

TENSE

Q: is tense information conveyed by the tense morpheme alone?

TENSE

(15) John leaves tomorrow.

(16) World War II begins in 1939.

(17) We have a seminar at 4.00 today.

(18) We have a lecture every Tuesday.

TENSE

a proper interpretation of the temporal value of an utterance presupposes an analysis of the relation between tense inflection and the time adverbial (if any)

TENSE

TIME ADVERBIALS

Adverb phrases: today, yesterday, the day before yesterday…

Preposition phrases which encode temporal information: after…, before…, at…, in….

Adverbial clauses of time

TENSE

(19) He met a nice girl yesterday.

(20) They met in 1912.

(21) They left Sinaia [after they talked to John].

TENSE

Q: what happens if a sentence lacks a time adverbial?

(22) John is my brother. He is in London.

(23) His mother was an engineer.

TENSETime adverbials:(i) Anchored time adverbials (deictic//ST-

oriented) now, yesterday, tomorrow, the day before yesterday, the day after tomorrow, next year, last year

They are ST-oriented i.e. their interpretation is determined

relative to ST

TENSE

They have explicit relations to ST

They cannot co-occur with any tense

(24) *They left tomorrow.

TENSE

(ii) Unanchored time adverbials

in June, on Friday, in a week

They do not have explicit relations to ST

They can co-occur with various tenses

TENSE

Compare:

(25) They arrived yesterday.

*They arrived tomorrow.

(26) They arrived in June.

They will arrive in June.

TENSE

They behave differently when SOT applies

(27) “ I am leaving tomorrow”, he said.

He said he was leaving the following day.

(28) “I am leaving on Monday”, he said.

He said he was leaving on Monday.

TENSE

but not in FIS

(29) Tomorrow was Monday! Monday, the beginning of another school week!

(30) He had gone to bed perfectly well. Still, he was feeling dizzy now.

TENSE

Time adverbials also convey information about the internal structure of events:

(i) Durational time adverbials

(31) For three days, Mary awoke at noon.

He slept from 1 to 3.

TENSE

(ii) Frequency adverbs: usually, often, twice, frequently, sometimes

Indicate the recurrent pattern of a situation

(32) He drinks coffee every day.

?? He is tall every day.

TENSE

Also known as adverbs of quantification

The fog usually lifts before noon here.

Riders on the Thirteenth Avenue line seldom find seats.

TENSE

(iii) Completive/resultative adverbials: in an hour, within an hour

(33) Bill drove to his office in an hour.

?? She slept in an hour.

TENSE

(34) * Bill was walking in the park in an hour.

In an hour, Bill was walking in the park.

TENSE

Temporal adverbials contribute to temporal location and to the aspectual meaning of the sentence.

TENSE

(35) John left on Friday, in the afternoon, after lunch, at 3 p.m.

= a multiple adverb

= acts like a single time adverbial

=it simply yields a more exact temporal specification

Tense

So far:

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

(36) Next Friday I will have worked here for a week.

ST= now

ET after ST (next Friday) = future

(37) Next Friday I will work here.

Tense (38) Yesterday I fixed the computer.

ST= now; ET before ST = past

(39) 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

(40) At 2.00, John had left for two hours.

at 2.00 = ?

for two hours = ?

Tense

at 2.00 = the time of reference (RT)the time interval which the speaker has chosen as the time relative to which the situation is located in time

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

(41) I like movies now.

ST= now

RT=ST [ /z/ and ‘now’]

(42) At 5.00 I had already handed in the essay.

ST= now

RT before ST [ /d/ and ‘at 5.00’]

Tense

(43) Tomorrow in the morning I will have killed the pig.

ST= now

RT after ST [will and “tomorrow”)]

Tense

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/ET : mediated by RT.

Each tense is analyzed in terms of :

Tense

A. The “tense” component (ST/RT)

B. The “aspect” component (RT/ET)

The EXISTENTIAL STATUS of a sentence (ET/ST) derives from A and B.

Tense is interpreted COMPOSITIONALLY

Tense

A. The REFERENCE COMPONENT (ST/RT)

B. The RELATION COMPONENT (RT/ET)

The EXISTENTIAL STATUS of a sentence (ET/ST) derives from A and B.

Tense is interpreted COMPOSITIONALLY

Tense

So far...

RT/ST < tense morphemes (+ time adv)

tense relates RT to ST

i.e. tense meanings are relations between a RT and a ST

Conclusions so far...

Tense relates RT to ST:

(i) RT prior to ST : past tense value

(ii) RT after ST: future tense value

(iii) RT simultaneous with ST: present tense value

Tense

ET/RT= ?

Tense

(45) They had already left at 5.00.

ST= now

RT before ST [ past tense]

ET before RT [ perfect/ closed situation]

ET before ST [historical ES]

Tense

ET: different from RT

< the auxiliary HAVE + -en

< already

Tense

PPs

(46) I left before 2.00.

ST= now

RT before ST [past]

ET before RT [before 2.oo, i.e. closed]

ET before ST [ historical ES]

Tense

(47) It was 1991; they would get married two years later.

ST= now

RT before ST [ past]

ET after RT [ two years later; prospective]

Tense

ET/RT

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

(48) 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

“What I am proposing concerning the semantics of the aspect forms is that they specify the relation between reference time and event time in an utterance.“ [Johnson 1981, 153]

Tense

ET/RT : Aspect

John has left.

ET before RT [perfect]

John is running.

ET at/around RT [progressive]

Tense TASK

John is here now.

ST =

RT ST

ET RT

ET ST

Tense

(22) John is here now.

ST = now

RT= ST [Present ]

ET = RT [“neutral’]

ET = ST [ situation on-going at ST]

Tense

John leaves tomorrow.

ST=

RT ST

ET RT

ET ST

Tense

John leaves tomorrow.

ST= now

RT after ST [future]

ET = RT [“neutral”]

ET after ST [non-historical ES]

Tense

John came home at midnight.

ST=

RT ST

ET RT

ET ST

Tense

John came home at midnight.

ST=now

RT before ST [past]

ET = RT [neutral]


Tense

John has already left.

ST=

RT ST

RT ET

ET ST

Tense

John has already left.

ST=NOW

RT = ST [ present/ “has”]



Tense

At 10.00 John had already left.

ST =

RT ST

ET RT

ET ST

Tense

At 10.00 John had already left.

ST = now

RT before ST [past]

ET before RT [“perfect”]


Tense

Next week John will visit London.

ST =

RT ST

ET RT

ET ST

Tense

Next week John will visit London.

ST = now

RT after ST [ future]

ET = RT [neutral]

ET after ST [non-historical ES]

Tense

Next week John will have visited London.

ST =

RT ST

ET RT

ET ST

Tense

Next week John will have visited London.

ST = now

RT after ST [future]


ET after ST [non-historical situation]

Tense

Temporal interpretation is COMPOSITIONAL.

= it is the mirror of the relations which obtain between three time intervals: ST/RT/ET.

Aspect

= ST/RT < tense morpheme + time adv.

= ET/RT < aspect markers + the meaning of the predicate

Tense

Tense relates RT to ST

RT = ST

RT prior to ST

RT after ST

Conclusions

Aspect relates ET to RT

(i) ET prior to RT : perfective

(ii) ET includes/encompasses RT : imperfective

(iii) RT prior to ET:prospective

Conclusions

Existential status relates ET to ST

(i) ET prior to ST: historical status

(ii) ST prior to ET: non-historical status

(iii) ST = ET : semi-historical status (?)

Conclusions

A. RT/ST = TENSEB. ET/RT = ASPECT C. ET/ ST = the existential status of the

sentence

Conclusions

The existential status is given by the whole “chain”, as a composite of the information provided by the two links: TP and AspP

Each link in the functional layer can host specific morphological markers which encode information relevant for the temporal interpretation of the whole clause:

Conclusions

T-Operator(=ST)

TP (=RT/ST)

AspP ( = ET/RT)

TAM IB 2012 Intro & Tense

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Transcript of TAM IB 2012 Intro & Tense