ABSTRACT
The temporal interpretation of a clause is determined not only by the tense used but also by the time adverbial(s) (if any), the context and such factors as the (non) progressive aspect expressed by the verb form, the (non)durative and (a)telic Aktionsart (lexical aspect) expressed by the verb phrase, etc. In Chapter 9 I will investigate how these elements together determine the temporal interpretation of the clause. In the present chapter I will concentrate on the role of tense forms and time adverbials. Together, these create temporal structures which to a large extent determine the temporal interpretation of the clauses in which they occur. Such a temporal structure consists of various temporal constituents (i.e. time intervals) and temporal relations holding between them. In the previous chapter, which was concerned with the English tense system, I have examined the constituents and relations that form part of the semantic structure of the tenses. In this section I will consider all the constituents and relations that are relevant to the temporal interpretation of a sentence, including those that form no part of the semantic structure of the tenses. In doing so I will start from the illustrative example (1).
