tailieunhanh - The grammar of the english verb phrase part 62

As to the system of reference to the examples used, we have decided not to mention the full source but only to mark them as '(www)1. The reasons for this are the follow¬ing. First, explicit reference to the websites in question would reduce the read¬ability of the text, since such a reference easily takes up a complete line. | 420 8. Temporal domains and relative tenses theoretical foundations ambiguous past tense especially if the meanings involved are so distinct that they may be compatible with contradictory readings. As shown in the absolute tense is not compatible with the W-reading situation time after t0 whereas the relative tense is He said he would do it when he had time which is tomorrow. A second point in favour of treating the relative past tense as a tense in its own right is that it has a temporal meaning that is quite similar to that of the past perfect and the conditional tense. The latter two express the temporal structures The situation time is T-anterior to an orientation time in a past domain and The situation time is T-posterior to an orientation time in a past domain respectively see and . Since the relative past expresses The situation time is T-simultaneous with an orientation time in a past domain it has the same right to be treated as a tense of its own as the past perfect and the conditional tense. By tense of its own we mean tense with a semantic meaning not shared by any other tense . Moreover given the fact that simultaneity is the unmarked one of the three relations that can be expressed by tenses see section below it appears illogical to assume that there is a tense expressing T-anteriority to an orientation time in a past domain and a tense expressing T-posteriority to an orientation time in a past domain but no tense expressing T-simultaneity to an orientation time in a past domain. Theoretical conclusion 2 What is past about the meaning of the past tense morpheme used in both absolute and relative preterite forms is the idea that the situation time belongs to a past domain. The past aspect of meaning conveyed by the past tense morpheme which the two past tenses have in common is neither The situation time is T-anterior to t0 nor The binding orientation time is T-anterior to t0 . It is The situation time belongs to a past domain