ABSTRACT
First published in 1997, this thesis is about the temporal interpretation of noun phrases. Although the temporal interpretation of verbs is by no means a settled issue today, all of us have at least a vague idea of how it works: sentences contain verbs and tenses and sometimes temporal adverbials, and in some way or other the tense of a clause tells us roughly whether the state of affairs denoted by the main predicate of the clause—or at least a crucial part of it—is located at a past, present, or future time.
