1. Introduction -- I. General introductory remarks -- 1.1 Aims and scope of the work -- 1.2 Symbols and conventions -- 1.3 The illustrative material -- 1.4 The structure of the book -- II. General linguistic terminology -- 1.5 'Situation', 'actualization', 'actualize' -- 1.6 Phrase -- 1.7 Clause, predicate -- 1.8 Sentence -- 1.9 Alternative definitions of 'verb phrase' -- 1.10 Tensed vs nontensed verb forms -- 1.11 'Present' and 'perfect' nonfinite forms -- 1.12 Lexical verbs vs auxiliaries -- 1.13 Transitive vs intransitive lexical verbs -- III. Meaning categories expressed by verb forms -- 1.14 Introduction -- 1.15 The formation of the present tense -- 1.16 The formation of the past tense -- 1.17 The formation of the other tenses -- 1.18 The meanings of tenses: expressing temporal relations -- 1.19 Special uses of tenses -- 1.20 Introduction -- 1.21 Perfective aspect -- 1.22 Imperfective aspect -- 1.23 Habitual aspect -- 1.24 Repetitive vs semelfactive aspect -- 1.25 Aspectual form vs aspectual meaning -- 1.26 Perfect aspect? -- 1.27 Definition of mood and modality -- IV. The precise meanings and uses of 'situation' and 'actualization' -- 1.28 Definition of 'situation', 'actualize' and 'actualization' -- 1.29 Situation: meaning (denotation) versus reference -- 1.30 Terminological conventions for speaking about -- 1.31 Terminology used to refer to situation types and -- 1.32 Situation types -- V. Abstract situation types: ontological aspect -- 1.33 Introduction -- 1.34 Ontological feature 1: 'static' versus 'dynamic' -- 1.35 Ontological feature 2: 'agentive' versus 'nonagentive' -- 1.36 Ontological feature 3: 'homogeneous' versus -- 1.37 Ontological feature 4: 'durative' vs 'punctual' -- 1.38 Ontological feature 5: [( transitional] -- 1.39 Ontological feature 6: 'telic' vs 'atelic' -- 1.40 Ontological feature 7: [( evolving].

VI. Classifications of situation types -- 1.41 Introduction -- 1.42 Classification 1: states, actions, events and processes -- 1.43 Classification 2: Vendler's taxonomy -- VII. Actualization aspect: 'bounded' 'nonbounded' -- 1.44 Definition of (non)bounded situations/clauses -- 1.45 'Nonbounded actualization' -- 1.46 (Non)boundedness and duration adverbials -- 1.47 (Non)boundedness vs (a)telicity -- 1.48 (Un)bounding clause constituents -- VIII. The aspectual interpretation of a clause -- 1.49 Aspectual interpretation -- IX. Summary of chapter 1 -- 1.50 Parts I and II -- 1.51 Part III -- 1.52 Part IV -- 1.53 Part V -- 1.54 Part VI -- 1.55 Part VII -- 1.56 Part VIII -- 2. Towards a theory of tense and time -- I. Introduction -- 2.1 Tense vs time -- 2.2 'Orientation time' and 'situation time': provisional -- 2.3 Tenses -- 2.4 Temporal zero-point (t0) -- 2.5 Nonfinite clauses are tenseless -- 2.6 Progressive tenses? -- 2.7 Theoretical discussion: does English have more -- 2.8 Does English have a 'future tense'? -- 2.9 Future tense forms vs 'futurish' tense forms -- 2.10 Does English have a present perfect tense? -- 2.11 More on the notion of temporal zero-point (t0) -- 2.12 Full situation vs predicated situation -- 2.13 Time of the predicated situation vs time of the full -- 2.14 Orientation time -- 2.15 The semantics of tenses: temporal domains -- 2.16 Kinds of temporal relations -- 2.17 Expanding a temporal domain: expressing T-relations -- 2.18 Temporal relations that are not linguistically -- II. Special uses of tense forms -- 2.19 Modal uses of tenses -- 2.20 Shifts of temporal perspective -- 2.21 Universal sentences -- III. The role of temporal adverbials -- 2.22 Definition and basic classification of 'temporal -- 2.23 The function of a time-specifying adverbial -- 2.24 Situation-time adverbial -- 2.25 Orientation-time adverbial.

2.26 Multiple-orientation-time-adverbial -- 2.27 The relation between one Adv-time and another -- 2.28 Durative time-specifying adverbials referring to the -- 2.29 Adv-time-simultaneity -- 2.30 Punctual Adv-times and durative bounded situations -- 2.31 The role of pure duration adverbials -- 2.32 Summary of section III -- IV. The present and past time-spheres -- 2.33 The conceptualization of 'time-spheres' -- 2.34 Defining the time-spheres -- 2.35 Present time-sphere zones -- 2.36 Visual representation of time-spheres and zones -- 2.37 Absolute zones -- 2.38 Past vs pre-present -- 2.39 The length of the time-spheres and zones -- 2.40 Present time-sphere tenses vs past time-sphere tenses -- V. Temporal domains -- 2.41 Absolute tenses vs relative tenses -- 2.42 Temporal domain -- 2.43 Unexpanded domain -- 2.44 Absolute and relative past tenses -- 2.45 Past (time-sphere) tenses -- 2.46 Present (time-sphere) tenses -- 2.47 Absolute-relative tenses -- 2.48 Terminology: relative tenses vs absolute-relative tenses -- 2.49 Temporal subordination or (temporal) binding -- VI. Summary -- 2.51 The basic terminology of tense -- 2.52 What counts as a tense? -- 2.53 Full situation and predicated situation -- 2.54 What is (and is not) expressed by tenses -- 2.55 Special uses of tenses -- 2.56 Types of temporal adverbials -- 2.57 The conceptualization of time that tenses encode -- 2.58 Establishing and expanding temporal domains -- 3. The absolute use of the present tense -- I. The basic meaning and use of the absolute present tense -- 3.1 The present tense establishing a present domain -- II. The present tense as part of the 'Special Present Time-sphere System' -- 3.2 Definition -- 3.3 The historic present -- 3.4 The present tense expressing combined past and -- 3.5 The present tense as unmarked tense -- 3.6 Pre-present situations represented as if present.

3.7 The nonprogressive present in wh-questions -- 3.8 The nonprogressive present referring to a -- 3.9 The progressive present referring to an arranged -- 3.10 Constraints on the use of the present tense with -- 3.11 The present tense substituting for a -- III. Summary -- 4. The absolute past tense -- I. Introduction -- 4.1 The semantics of the absolute past tense -- 4.2 Bygone situations: 'W-bygone' vs 'T-bygone' -- 4.3 The implicature of discontinuation -- 4.4 The nonprogressive past vs the progressive past -- II. Uses of the absolute past tense -- 4.5 Concern with THEN is clear from the context -- 4.6 The past tense used to focus on the 'when?' of the -- 4.7 The past tense used for 'actualization focus' -- 4.8 The past tense contrasting what is W-bygone with -- III. Summary -- 5. The absolute use of the present perfect -- I. The semantics of the present perfect -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 The semantics and the T-interpretations of the -- II. The temporal W-interpretations of present perfect clauses -- 5.3 Introduction -- 5.4 The three W-interpretations of clauses in the -- 5.5 Further arguments for distinguishing between three -- 5.6 Summary of the meaning(s) and W-readings of the -- III. More on the continuative reading of the perfect -- 5.7 The 'factual full situation' vs the 'potential full -- 5.8 Conditions for the continuative W-interpretation -- 5.9 Factors triggering a continuative interpretation -- IV. More on the indefinite reading of the perfect -- 5.10 Further remarks on the indefinite reading -- 5.11 The indefinite reading and temporal adverbials -- 5.12 Indefinite readings of negative present perfect -- 5.13 The 'experiential perfect' use of the indefinite perfect -- 5.14 The indefinite perfect used to express 'hot news' -- 5.15 The resultative reading of the indefinite -- 5.16 The 'recency reading' of the indefinite present perfect.

V. More on the up-to-now reading of the perfect -- 5.17 Functional types of up-to-now reading -- 5.18 The unmarked up-to-now reading -- 5.19 The constitution readings -- 5.20 The specificational function of the constitution reading -- 5.21 Two-clause specificational sentences combining two -- 5.22 Summary of part V -- VI. The relation between the W-readings and (non)progressive aspect -- 5.23 (Non)progressive aspect and a continuative -- 5.24 (Non)progressive aspect and a continuative habitual -- 5.25 The indefinite reading and (non)progressive aspect -- 5.26 The unmarked up-to-now reading and -- 5.27 The nonquantificational constitution reading and -- 5.28 The duration-quantifying constitution reading and -- 5.29 The number-quantifying constitution reading and -- VII. Factors influencing the choice of temporal W-interpretation -- 5.30 The indefinite reading versus the continuative -- 5.31 The up-to-now reading versus the continuative -- 5.32 The up-to-now reading versus the indefinite -- VIII. Factors blocking the location of a situation in a 'period up to now' -- 5.33 Introduction -- 5.34 Reference to entities that no longer exist -- 5.35 Verb of creation -- IX. 'Current relevance' and 'present result' -- 5.36 The present perfect and current relevance -- 5.37 The present perfect and the idea of present result -- X. Summary -- 6. The present perfect vs the preterite -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Actualization focus -- 6.3 The influence of definite noun phrases -- 6.4 The present perfect vs the preterite in wh-questions -- 6.5 The present perfect vs the preterite in when-questions -- 6.6 Summary -- 7. Absolute tense forms referring to -- I. 'Future tense' forms 'futurish' forms -- 7.1 Definition of 'future tense' -- 7.2 Dual time conceptualization in sentences referring to -- 7.3 'Futurish' tense forms -- 7.4 Modal implication: not-yet-factual-at-t0.

7.5 The distribution of shall and will in the future tense.