21.1: Introduction

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As we discussed in Chapter 20, tense markers are frequently described as locating a situation in time relative to the time of speaking (or some other reference time). However, we argued (following Klein and others) that tense actually indicates the location of the topic time (the time span which is currently under discussion), rather than the time of the situation itself. In this chapter we explore the kinds of meanings that can be expressed by tense markers.

In §21.2 we will compare Klein’s theory of tense with some other well-known approaches. In §21.3 we discuss in some detail the simple present tense in English. This turns out to be a useful case study, because it illustrates how a wide range of uses can be explained in terms of a single basic sense plus coercion effects triggered by selectional restrictions, etc.

§21.4 discusses the difference between absolute tense, which defines past, present, or future relative to the time of speaking, from relative tense, in which the reference point for tense marking is some time other than the time of speaking. Some languages also have complex tense forms, which combine absolute with relative time reference. In sentence (1), for example, the first clause specifies a topic time (3:15 pm) that is in the past relative to the time of speaking. That time becomes the reference point for the tense marking in the second clause, which specifies a new topic time (3:00 pm) that is in the past relative to this reference point. The form had left is an example of a complex tense, namely “past-in-thepast”.

(1) I managed to get to the station at 3:15 pm, but the train had left promptly at 3:00.

Most languages that have grammatical tense markers distinguish only relative order: past is before the time of speaking, future is after the time of speaking. Some, however, make finer distinctions. §21.5 briefly illustrates some of these metrical tense systems, in which various degrees of past or future time are grammatically distinguished.