ABSTRACT
The ultimate goal of the research project begun in this dissertation is to better understand the means of future reference available to the human language faculty by determining, in as many genetically and geographically diverse languages as possible, the meanings of constructions that refer to the future. What was presented here was a semantic theory of four English constructions that are used to speak with a high level of confidence about the future. This theory provided explanations for various facts, raising various questions in the process.
