DOCSLIB.ORG

Walker's Sequence of Tenses the Sequence of Tenses in Latin, a Study Based on Caesar's Gallic War

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Walker's Sequence of Tenses the Sequence of Tenses in Latin, a Study Based on Caesar's Gallic War The Classical Review http://journals.cambridge.org/CAR Additional services for The Classical Review: Email alerts: Click here Subscriptions: Click here Commercial reprints: Click here Terms of use : Click here Walker's Sequence of Tenses The Sequence of Tenses in Latin, a Study based on Caesar's Gallic War. By A. T. Walker, Professor of Latin in the University of Kansas. 8vo. pp. iv, and 52. Lawrence, Kansas, 1899. R. S. Conway The Classical Review / Volume 15 / Issue 01 / February 1901, pp 66 - 69 DOI: 10.1017/S0009840X00029565, Published online: 27 October 2009 Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0009840X00029565 How to cite this article: R. S. Conway (1901). The Classical Review, 15, pp 66-69 doi:10.1017/S0009840X00029565 Request Permissions : Click here Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/CAR, IP address: 61.129.42.15 on 07 May 2015 66 THE CLASSICAL REVIEW. AN OLD FRENCH TRANSLATION OF CICERO'S RHETORICA. Notice sur la Bhetorique de Ciceron. Tra- ing, among other things, how ' sermocinat duit par Maitre JEAN D'ANTIOCHE, MS. science ' is divided into grammar, logic and 590 du Musee Conde1, par M. Leopold rhetoric. ' Gramaire f ut amendee et perfaite Delish (Tir6 des Notices et Extraits des par Precien. Aristot fist logique. Et Manuscrits de la Bibliotheque Nationale Marc Tulles Cyceron fut especial auctour et autres Bibliotheques). Paris: Im- de rethorique . cette art de rethorique primerie Nationale. avoit este trouve"e par les Grifons,' &c, &c. In the epilogue the translator explains the THE well-known librarian of the Bibliotheque principles which had guided him: Quar Nationale has^unearthed in the Mus^e Conde" chascune lengue si a ses proprietez et sa at Chantilly a very interesting early French maniere de parler, et par ce nul translateur o translation of Cicero's ' Rhetorica,' of which interpreteur neporroit jamais bientranslater he has published an account, accompanied d'une lengue a autre, s'il ne s'enformait a la by two facsimile plates, and copious extracts. maniere et as proprietez de cele lengue en The translation was made at Acre for qui il translate; por laquel chose il covint Guillaume de Saint-Etienne, a knight of St. au translateur de ceste science de translator John of Jerusalem, by John of Antioch, aucune fois parole por parole, et aucune fois ' also called de Harens,' in the year 1282. et plus sovent sentence por sentence, et (It is curious that the date is on f ol. 1 given aucune fois por la grant oscurte de la sentence as MCCC.LXXxii, on fol. 12 asM.cc.LXxn, while li covint il sozjoindre et acreiste.' A second the true date MCC.LXXXII is only given on section is devoted to a sketch of logic, and fol. 13). The Chantilly MS. is probably an to showing how reasoning, and especially the original copy, and the translation has been ' entimeme' differs from rhetoric, in order carefully corrected, and other renderings that ' Brother Guillaume' may be more in some places substituted. The translator subtle in all questions. has thrown the two books de Inventions and This translation does not contribute much the four ad Herennium into one series, to the criticism of the text, but it is of some divided into 206 chapters. Two preliminary interest as a specimen of style and diction. sections are prefixed, dealing with the A. S. W. various divisions of knowledge, and explain- WALKER'S SEQUENCE OF TENSES. The Sequence of Tenses in Latin, a Study enquiry itself with the industry, the based on Caesar's Gallic War. By A. T. thoroughness and the syntactical discrimina- WALKER, Professor of Latin in the Uni- tion which we expect from one of Professor versity of Kansas. 8vo. pp. iv, and 52. Hale's pupils. His conclusions are interest- Lawrence, Kansas, 1899. ing and attractive, a priori, since they seem to offer a rationalised version of the old rule THE most acute and elaborate research may of Sequence. But the author's object was to be entirely thrown away if its results are set establish them by direct evidence; and in down in a form which no one can under- this, so far as his readers are concerned, stand. To apply such a truism to a particular he must be said to have failed. A little case is a rather thankless task, and if Pro- more patience in recording the results of his fessor Walker's Dissertation contained no enquiry, a little sober criticism of obscure more serious matter than is commonly and faulty wording, and a day spent in found in other Degree-Theses, its weaknesses making an Index Locorum might have made might be ignored. But he has undertaken this dissertation a contribution to Grammar to deal with a question which is of first- of permanent value. But as it is now rate importance to all students of Latin; presented the body of the paper is a wilder- and it is clear that he has conducted the ness of bare references, separated into blocks THE CLASSICAL REVIEW. 67 by lines of definition, always curt, often per- the study was to test the truth of a. dictum of plexing, and sometimes quite unintelligible.1 Professor Hale's which amounted to a denial A line of numbers is no better evidence of the existence of any law of Sequence, by than ' what the soldier said.' Seeing that a minute scrutiny of the meaning of every the whole argument turns on the precise dependent Tense-form, Indicative or Sub- significance of single forms, it is surely not junctive, in Caesar's Gallic War. The too much to ask, first, that the one word or author starts by analysing the meanings of the two words for which each passage is the Indicative Tenses into their elements, cited should be added to the figures; and' Time-sphere' and ' Stage of Action (com- secondly and chiefly, that at least two or pleted, in process, or imminent,)' noting that three cogent examples of every general aoristic Tenses denote only the Time-sphere statement should be printed at length—a without indicating the Stage of Action. dozen where the point is novel or difficult. Besides the aorisfcic uses of Present, Perfect In pp. 12-25, where comparatively simple and Future, he would recognise, and justly, cases are dealt with, the author does give an aoristic Pluperfect and Future Perfect;, one example of each rule before plunging which simply state that an event occurred into figures; but at this point he relaxes or will have occurred before some other past even his own standard, and in pp. 33-46, or future event, but in no way describe which contain all the hard cases, he prints it; since it precedes another, it must no examples at all, save for a few of be, of course, completed, but the speaker is the subdivisions on pp. 38-40. Nor is it not concerned with this aspect of it.3 In merely the reader who suffers. Such a ' he arrived after you had gone' the Plu- misprint or miswriting as ' conclusions' perfect is aoristic; whereas in ' after he had (p. 37 1. 2), for (I suppose) ' comparisons' made a fortune he cut all his old friends,' could hardly have passed uncorrected if the the speaker directs attention to the result author had written out the solitary example of a process; the Stage of the action is which he has to cite (alio tempore atque emphasised and the Tense may be fairly oportuerit) instead of blinding his own eyes called 'Descriptive.'* For the Subjunctive by giving only the reference. This kind of Tenses a double use is laid down, one cor- accident awakens uncomfortable doubts as responding to the same Tenses of the to the worth of the references generally. Indicative, the other containing a reference In short, the reader will be able to judge to some future time, measured from a whether the evidence supports or throws present or a past standpoint. Thus the doubt on the author's conclusions, when, Present Subjunctive serves both as Present and only when, he has spent at least as and Future; the Imperfect, as Imperfect much time in completing the work as the 2 and Future to the Past, and so forth. (A author has spent in beginning it. more minute analysis is attempted in c.V, But enough has been said to show that the which appears in some respects doubtful, dissertation needs to be re-written; it is a and in any case irrelevant to questions of much pleasanter task to urge that it is ex- Sequence). tremely well worth re-writing. The object of The author next proceeds (p. 8) to give an admirable definition of Sequence, which 1 In some passages the author has stated (or whether it be original or not—and it seems pinted) precisely what he does not mean. For to be given as such—will, I feel sure, be instance on 'p. 40 we read as the title of a Class: ' The present of a general truth following a past in gratefully accepted by other students of indirect question.* But if the reader verifies the Grammar. The description of the Perf. reference he finds that it is not the Fast that is in Subj. in e.g., rogo quid fecerit as aorist, is the Indirect Question, but the Present. A not seems new to me but, I think, quite convincing, to be omitted on p. 8, 1. 20, and p. 30, footnote. in view of the fact that a following Subjunc- 5 Compared to this radical defect mere faults of style, such as the absence of capital letters (so that, e.g., 'the present' denotes both a Tense and a time), 3 The haphazard examples which follow are not are venial enough.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sequence-Of-Tense and the Features of Finite Tenses Karen Zagona University of Washington*
    Sequence-of-tense and the Features of Finite Tenses Karen Zagona University of Washington* Abstract Sequence-of-tense (SOT) is often described as a (past) tense verb form that does not correspond to a semantically interpretable tense. Since SOT clauses behave in other respects like finite clauses, the question arises as to whether the syntactic category Tense has to be distinguished from the functional category tense. I claim that SOT clauses do in fact contain interpretable PRESENT tense. The “past” form is analyzed as a manifestation of agreement with the (matrix past) controller of the SOT clause evaluation time. One implication of this analysis is that finite verb forms should be analyzed as representing features that correspond to functional categories higher in clause structure, including those of the clausal left periphery. SOT morphology then sheds light on the existence of a series of finer- grained functional heads that contribute to tense construal, and to verbal paradigms. These include Tense, Modality and Force. 1. Introduction The phenomenon of sequence-of-tense (SOT) poses several challenges for the standard assumption that a “past tense” verb form signals the presence of a functional category in clause structure with an interpretable ‘past’ value. SOT is illustrated by the ‘simultaneous’ reading of sentence (1): (1) Terry believed that Sue was pregnant. a. The time of Sue’s pregnancy precedes time of Terry’s belief (precedence) b. The time of Sue’ pregnancy overlaps time of Terry’s belief (simultaneity) For the ‘precedence’ reading in (1a), the embedded clause tense is semantically transparent in the sense that the past form was corresponds to a past ordering relation (relative to the time of Terry’s belief).
    [Show full text]
  • Tenses Rules with Examples Pdf
    Tenses Rules With Examples Pdf When Billie huts his Boyle divinized not dogmatically enough, is Shlomo scathing? Prosecutable and unchained Garrett feezes her barton read transcendentalized and deputizes round. Salomone remains unscaled after Giordano depicturing affluently or regulate any negotiatresses. Simple tenses rules with pdf exercises on Introduction to tenses pdf Stevino. All Tense anchor Chart and ramp in PDF SlideShare. You will often as in latin, rules for closed events and which tv and communication, i bet it! The present progressive tense how often overused by non-native speakers of English It also only. They are examples pdf format and writing; an index from all of. She wants to have two examples pdf rules well then you will he write a rule is at the sentence below so, modal verbs conjugated in. In examples with example, in that man was shopping in front of. Your learning english. Simple Present Simple dish and attitude Perfect Tenses This is indicate list of Irregular Verbs I find read the thin form the circle past error and second past participle of. You like ielts exam, the past morpheme at lf position of 있다 is taking more confident about how to sit in pdf rules of new dress for. Jun 26 2020 All else Rule Chart and kitchen in PDF Free download as PDF File pdf Text File txt or read online for free You can find mustard all a rule in. Grammar Rules of Verb Tenses A & O Support Services for. He has just mentioned in pdf rules with example: present tense rule regards any mistakes? ACTIVE AND PASSIVE TENSES CHART.
    [Show full text]
  • Grammatical Tense Does Express Time.Indd
    Topic 15. Grammatical tense does express time. Examine the relationship between grammatical tense, relative time, and verbal aspect in ancient Greek. Time sequences events. Tense infl ects char- acteristics of action words. Verbal aspect expresses an author’s perspective about an action. Relative time is one of numerous kinds of verbal aspect. Ancient grammarians agree—relative time is the primary function of tense. Some claim that certain types of verbal aspect are more dominant than rela- tive time. Th is contradicts both the claims of ancient grammarians and also modern linguists. Relative time is the fi rst and most important implication of grammatical tense. However, verbal aspect is useful to illuminate nuances of grammatical tense. Consider a current debate about the relationship between grammatical tense and verbal aspect. In particular, examine the relationship between grammatical tense and time. Examine time. Tense and time are distinct properties. Use the two terms in completely dif- ferent ways. Tense assigns an action to one of seven categories. These categories express a perspective of the author about when an action 1 occurs. Tense is a grammati- cal property of action words. Identify the tense of an action by its morphology. Tense is related to time, but it does not equal time. Defi ne time. Time is the relative measurement of the order of events. Time is a property assigned to the events themselves—it is not a property of language. The analy- sis of time belongs to the fields of physics, history, philosophy, and psychology. Time is an abstract notion, built on esoteric philosophical ideas.
    [Show full text]
  • Spanish Concordantia Temporum: an Old Issue, New Solutions
    Spanish Concordantia Temporum: An Old Issue, New Solutions Sandro Sessarego The Ohio State University 1. Introduction Spanish grammars have long denied the possibility of employing present subjunctive forms in the subordinate clause of a sentence if the verb of the main clause occurs in the imperfect, preterit, conditional or pluperfect tense (Bello & Cuervo 1964). At the same time, some scholars have recognized the possibility of this use, on the grounds that the distinction between past subjunctive and present subjunctive, in embedded clauses, corresponds to a difference in the meaning conveyed by the sentence and not to a mere grammatical irregularity. “La regla de la concordancia temporum dice que si el verbo principal está en el pasado, el subordinado debe estar también en pasado: Le mandaron que estudiase. Pero se dice igualmente le mandaron que estudie, refiriendo el acto de estudiar al presente o al futuro” (Gili Gaya 1948:153). Andean dialects are famous in the literature for violating the rule of Concordantia Temporum resulting in sentences where the subjunctive verb encountered in a nominal subordinate clause is often found in a present form even though it conveys a past action (Kany 1945; Obaid 1967; Lunn 2007). To see an example of this, in (1) there is a humorous (and presumably ficticious, yet certainly possible) anecdote from Quito Spanish that provides us with an idea of how the present subjunctive is used in that dialect, and in Andean Spanish more generally, to convey a past action; the characters are a tourist and a cabdriver (Lunn 2007). (1) Tourist: ¿Es nuevo ese edificio? ‘Is that building new?’ Cabdriver: Sí, lo construyeron para cuando venga el Papa.
    [Show full text]
  • 5F 5F: the Perfect Subjunctive I. Sequence of Tenses and The
    5F 5F: The Perfect Subjunctive I. Sequence of Tenses and the Perfect Subjunctive A. In one of its most common uses, the perfect subjunctive appears in subordinate clauses in primary sequence to refer to an action that took place prior to the action indicated by the main verb: laudat Āfricānum Panaetius quod fuerit abstinēns. “Panaetius [the Stoic philosopher] praises Scipio Africanus because he was temperate.” [subordinate clause in (implied) indirect discourse] nēmo scit quot mīlitēs habuerit Mānlius. “No one knows how many soldiers Manlius had.” [indirect question] In such sentences the perfect is used in its ‘aorist’ sense, as a simple past tense. Often, however, the perfect subjunctive (like the perfect indicative) will be used in its ‘pure’ form as a true perfect. In such sentences the perfect acts as a present tense, referring to a present state that is the result of a past action: nōn is es ut tē pudor umquam ā turpitūdine reuocārit. “You are not of the sort [‘are not that one’] that shame has ever kept you from baseness.” [result clause] utrum nescīs quam altē ascenderīs an prō nihilō id putās? “Do you not know how high you have climbed, or do you consider that as nothing?” [indirect question] multī fuērunt quī tranquillitātem expetentēs ā negōtiīs pūblicīs sē remōuerint. “There have been many men who, because they seek peace and quiet, have removed themselves from public affairs.” [relative clause of characteristic] B. In a similar way, the perfect subjunctive will be used in its ‘pure’ form as a true perfect in purpose clauses in primary sequence.
    [Show full text]
  • The Syntactic Expression of Tense
    The Syntactic Expression of Tense Tim Stowell UCLA Tim Stowell UCLA Linguistics Department, 405 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095-1543 USA [email protected] 1 Abstract In this article I defend the view that many central aspects of the semantics of tense are determined by independently-motivated principles of syntactic theory. I begin by decomposing tenses syntactically into a temporal ordering predicate (the true tense, on this approach) and two time-denoting arguments corresponding to covert a reference time (RT) argument and an eventuality time (ET) argument containing the verb phrase. Control theory accounts for the denotation of the RT argument, deriving the distinction between main clause and subordinate clause tenses. The theory of covert movement is used to account for the independent/indexical interpretation of relative clause tenses, and for the correlation between independent tense interpretation and a de re construal of the relative clause. A theory of “past polarity”, based on traditional negative polarity theory, accounts both for the simultaneous “sequence of tense” construal of past tenses in subordinate clauses embedded within past tense contexts, and for the obligatory indexical/independent interpretation of present tense in a relative clause embedded within a past tense context. Combined with the copy theory of movement, the polarity theory also provides an account of the semantics of double access sentences, treating them as involving a special kind of reconstruction effect. Key Words: Tense, Temporal control, Past polarity, De dicto/de re, Double Access 2 1. Tense and syntactic theory In this article I defend the view that many central aspects of the semantics of tense are determined by independently motivated principles of syntactic theory.
    [Show full text]
  • Purpose Clauses First a Few Words on the Sequence of Tenses
    Purpose Clauses Purpose Clauses First a few words on the sequence of tenses: The tenses of the Indicative and Subjunctive moods are classified as either Pri- mary or Secondary (sometime called Historic) as follows: Indicative Subjunctive Primary Present Present (action simultaneous with or Future —— subsequent to main verb) Present Perfect Perfect (action prior to main verb) Future Perfect —— Secondary Imperfect Imperfect (action simultaneous with or Simple Past —— subsequent to main verb) Pluperfect Pluperfect (action prior to main verb) A primary main verb requires a primary subordinate verb (we call this primary sequence). Likewise, a secondary main verb requires a secondary subordinate (sec- ondary sequence). In primary sequence, the present subjunctive express actions si- multaneous with or subsequent to the main verb; perfect subjunctive, actions prior to the main verb. In secondary sequence, the imperfect subjunctive express ac- tions simultaneous with or subsequent to the main verb; the pluperfect subjunctive, actions prior to the main verb. These relationships are indicated in the above chart. The subordinating conjunction ut or its negative, ne, set up (among other things) two general types of subordinate clauses: Purpose Clauses (also called Final Clauses) and Result Clauses (also called Consecutive Clauses). A purpose clause expresses the purpose or intention of the action of the main verb (I do x so that y may/might occur); it does not, however, indicate whether or not that intention was realized. Likewise, a result clause expresses the result of the action of the main verb (I did x in such a way that y happened); it says nothing of motive, only the result.
    [Show full text]
  • Sequence of Tenses Studied & Maybe Clarified
    Sequence of Tenses Studied & Maybe Clarified Sequence of Tenses Except for the Hortatory/Jussive (“let us”), subjunctive verbs always live in subordinate clauses. “Subordinate” means we have a complex sentence that will include a main clause with a main verb that rules how tense works in a sentence. The subordinate subjunctive is therefore “under its rule” (as subordinates do). Only the tense of the main verb has to do with ‘real’ time. The main verb may be any tense. Subjunctive verbs only exist in a total of FOUR tenses. All of these tenses are RELATIVE to the main verb ONLY. There is no need for subjunctive verbs to appear in all SIX tenses because subjunctive tenses are purely relative and never real. The tense of the main verb dictates the actual tense (the one based in reality) while the subordinate subjunctive relates to that tense in one of three possible ways: BEFORE, DURING, AFTER. Why are there three possible relations to time (before, during, after) but four tenses of the subjunctive? Hold your horses, I’ll explain… Look at these variations here in which reality tells us that Billy Bob is hungry. The underlined portion is hypothetical (I don’t think he is really going to eat that poor horse) and so, in Latin, we would express that clause in the subjunctive: 1. Billy Bob is so hungry that he could eat a horse right now. 2. Billy Bob is so hungry that he might eat a horse later. 3. Billy Bob is so hungry that he could have eaten a horse a bit ago.
    [Show full text]
  • A Short Historical Latin Grammar (1895) Pdf, Epub, Ebook
    A SHORT HISTORICAL LATIN GRAMMAR (1895) PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Wallace Martin Lindsay | 216 pages | 19 Jan 2009 | Kessinger Publishing | 9781104008055 | English | Whitefish MT, United States A Short Historical Latin Grammar (1895) PDF Book This makes it feasible to dispense with the enumeration of many minutiae of usage which would otherwise demand consideration in a student's grammar. An original s between vowels became r ; as,—. Seite 17 - Erupit brevi tempore nimius usus, ut choronae, chenturiones, praechones adhuc quibusdam inscriptionibus maneant, qua de re Catulli nobile epigramma est. The Tokharian. It has four floors, including the basement. The difference between the two appears clearly in the following:—. New Latin Grammar. At that time any attempt to claim an independent English grammatical rule specifically for English language was soon abide by an identical example in Latin. Thus the Participle may denote:—. They have the following Passive meanings: always in the Gerundive, and sometimes in the Perfect Passive Participle; as—. We note also the introduction of idioms from the colloquial language, along with many poetical words and usages. Each middle and upper school class elects four representatives and a class president at the end of the previous year. In final syllables of polysyllabic words before a final consonant or cluster, short a, e, i merge into either e or i depending on the following consonant, and short o, u merge into u. The suffix -ium appended to nouns denoting persons designates either a collection of such persons or their function ; as,—. Note that in words of the type of puer and vir the final vowel of the stem has disappeared in the Nominative and Vocative Singular.
    [Show full text]
  • English Tenses and Slavic Aspects
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 042 376 FL 001 461 AUTHOR Manning, Clarence A. TITLE English Tenses and Slavic Aspects. INSTITUTION t31.rainian Free Academy of Sciences. SPONS AGENCY Ukrainian National Association of America, Inc., Jersey City, N.J. PUB DATE 59 NOTE 39p. JOURNAL CIT Slavistica; n34 p1-40 1959 EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF-$0.25 HC-$2.05 DESCRIPTORS Cyrillic Alphabet, *English, *Form Classes (Languages), Language Classification, Language Patterns, Languages, Sentence Structure, Slavic Languages, *Structural Analysis, Synchronic Linguistics, Translation, *Ukrainian, *Verbs ABSTRACT Differences between the English and Ukrainian verbal forms, meaning, and usage are studied in this booklet. While the author illustrates significant distinctions in basic forms, sentences, and in paragraph structure, he concludes that the most important diffe,..,-between both systems are of a psychold4fddI-- nature Examples are cited, often using the Cyrillic script. Complete poems are included, with commentary and analysis. (RL) From: Slavistica, number 34 1959 SLAVISTICA No. 34 CLARENCE A. MANNING i ENGLISH TENSES AND SLAVIC ASPECTS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY. Hammom YxpalHemcol EamArdi AmagamilHayx with a grantof the Ukrainian K.:aonal Ass'n of America 1959 KaHaJa N- I Pr\ SLAVISTICA ri Proceedings of the Institute of Slavistics OF UKRAINIAN FREE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Editor: J. B. Rudnyc'kyj CI No. 34 Lid CLARENCE A. MANNING ENGLISH TENSES AND SLAVIC ASPECTS Winnipeg 1959 Canada Published by Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY The Ukrai ni an Frpp Academy of Sci ence,s I0 ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Origin of the Italic Imperfect Subjunctive
    The Origin of the Italic Imperfect Subjunctive 85 1) the creation of a morphologically distinct future, replacing the desiderative presents and modal forms that served to express futurity in the parent language; The Origin of the Italic Imperfect Subjunctive 2) the functional merger of the PIE aorist and perfect into a single tense, the "perfect," with the value of both a simple preterite, func­ rior,ally continuing the old aorist, and a resultative present, contin­ The six tenses of Classical Latin fonn a symmetrical pattern, with uing the old perfect; the three-way temporal contrast of the inJectu"" or present system 3) the introduction of a resultative future (the future perfect) and replicated in the perfectu"" or perfect system:') , a resultative preterite (the pluperfect), serving as perfect system Present Future Past counterparts to the non-present tenses of the infectum; Infectum tangis(pres.) tanges (fur.) tangebas (impf.) 4) the elimination of the PIE subjunctive: optative contrast and 'you touch' 'you will touch' 'you were touching' the establishment of a single subordinate mood, the "subjunctive"; Per/ectum tetigislf (perf.) tetigem (fut. perf.) tetigeras (plupf.) and 'you have couched' 'you will have 'you had touched' 5) the introduction of an opposition between past (imperfect, plu­ touched' perfect) and non-past (present, perfect) subjunctives, partly duplicat­ The neatness of this array is slightly disturbed by the fact that the ing the tense system of the indicative. perfect is frequently employed as a simple preterite ('you touched') Developments 1)-3) are well understood. Proto-Italic had two fu­ rather than as a resultative present.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sequence of Tenses
    THE SEQUENCE OF TENSES 1. The interpretation of tenses in complement clauses 1.1. Traditional viewpoints Tense is usually said to be a deictic category, in that the truth of a tensed sentence is relative to speech time (that is, to the context of utterance). This is clearly the case in independent sentences. Complement clause tenses are not directly linked to Speech Time or Utterance Time (Ut- T). Instead, they are linked to higher tenses that are linked to ST or to even higher tenses, etc. Therefore, complement tenses are linked to Ut-T only indirectly. One of the most salient aspects of the systematic dependence of the complement clause on the main clause is the fact that the semantic interpretation of tenses in the complement clause depends on the main clause. This semantic dependence of complement tense on matrix tense also has a syntactic aspect, traditionally discussed under the rubric of the sequence of tenses (= SOT) of the Indicative Mood. English is a language that manifests the sequence of the tenses (= SOT), in the sense that the presence of a particular tense in the main clause may place constraints on which tenses are allowed in the subordinate clauses, and also constraints on how tenses in subordinate clauses are interpreted. The simplest formulation of the sequence of the tenses rule says that a past tense in a main clause requires only past tenses in the subordinate clauses. There are two main ways of approaching the SOT: a) The SOT may be viewed as an effect of indirect discourse. When reporting a person's statement under a past verb of saying, the reporter must back-shift all the present tenses in the reported statement to the corresponding past tenses.
    [Show full text]