476 9. Temporal subordination in the various time-zones [I caught up with Roger Penske track-side at the Chicago Speedway one week after the announced merger agreement of Detroit Diesel with a subsidiary of Daimler Chrysler AG. “What changed?” I asked. “We’ve gone back and forth on this and] I’ve been saying that I wasn’t interested,” [replied Penske. “But at the end of the day, I looked at the overall perspective and all the consolidations that are going on.”] (www) [“You don’t think it’s on the small side?” — “It looks fine to me.”] — “I’ve been thinking lately it was rather small.” (CP) [“Prime Minister, you’ve been arguing against these cuts for many months now. When did you change your mind?” Ϫ “I guess I came to the conclusion a week or so ago after a lot of thought and listening to a lot of people that I’d plainly made a mistake as far as the level of sensitivity and concern is.] I know that I’ve been saying that it wasn’t necessary, [I accept that and I’m not going to try and deny what I’ve previously said.”] (www) In the following examples, in which the subclause expresses T-posteriority, temporal subordination is again the only option because the subclause situation cannot be truly represented as T-anterior or T-posterior to t 0 : Since November I have been thinking that I had used up all my vacation time. [Today I found out I still have SEVEN days left.] (www) (The assertion I have used up all my vacation time is false at t 0 .) [I thought that I had sent it out but instead I had hit ‘postpone’.] This whole time I have been thinking that I had posted to the listserve with plenty of time. (www) [New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said Thursday that efforts to block the city from building a baseball stadium in Manhattan may force him to move the team out of New York. In response to Steinbrenner’s accusations, Vallone accused the Yankees owner of meddling in the city’s budget process.] (…) “George Steinbren- ner has been saying that he wasn’t going to talk about the future of Yankee Stadium until after the season was over,” Vallone said. (www) (The assertion I’m not going to talk about the future of Yankee Stadium until after the season is over would be false at t 0 .) [Representative Jo Ann Emerson recently announced Dec. 13 as the day traffic is anticipated to cross the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. “We couldn’t be more excited about this,” said MoDOT District Engineer Scott Meyer.] “We’ve been telling the public the bridge would be opened by the end of the year [and we are very pleased to finally have an anticipated date for the bridge completion.”] (www) In sum, if the subclause (depending on a head clause using an ‘up-to-now present perfect’ and describing a repetitive hypersituation) is temporally subor- dinated, the speaker is primarily (or exclusively) concerned with the subsitu- ations that are past with respect to t 0 . If that is not the case, he will normally shift the domain to another time-zone rather than apply temporal subordina- tion: II. Temporal relations in a pre-present domain 477 We’ve been telling the public the bridge will be opened by the end of the year [but they want a precise date]. Naturally, the more recent the subsituations are, the less likely they are to be treated as past. This explains that when the head clause contains just, the complement clause preferably shifts the domain: I’ve just been telling him that he {is doing / has been doing / will do} well to stay a bachelor. He has just been telling us that he {doesn’t like /#hasn’t liked / ? didn’t like} mush- rooms. (The reference in the subclause is to a permanent habit, which still exists at t 0 . The use of hasn’t liked is not suitable to express this meaning because hasn’t liked is naturally interpreted as an indefinite perfect, i. e. it yields an interpretation in which ‘his’ not liking mushrooms is represented as completely over at t 0 . Didn’t like is not very acceptable as a relative past tense form because of the recency reading induced by just.) 9.10.4 In subclauses other than complement clauses, the same two possibil- ities Ϫ temporal subordination versus shift of domain Ϫ are in principle avail- able, but here too everything depends on the degree of ‘pastness’ that the speaker can attribute to (part of) the up-to-now situation referred to in the head clause. What have you been doing while I {have been / was} away? (The past tense expands the domain; the present perfect establishes a W-simultaneous up-to-now domain.) Here the past tense dislocates the while-clause situation from t 0 , so that the situation inquired about, which coincides with the while-clause situation, is also seen as dislocated from t 0 , which means that the temporal relations do not have to start from t 0 but may start from the situation time of the head clause. The following are similar examples: [You have a black eye and your clothes are torn!] You have been fighting with one of the boys you {were / have been} playing with, haven’t you? [Ah, there you are!] What have you been doing while I {have been doing / was doing} the washing-up? The following are attested examples using the past tense: [“What have you been doing while I was away?” [he asked, crossing the room to look at a new kakemono on the wall.] (www) What have you been doing while you were unemployed? (www) [We knew that God who saved us alive would ask one day ask “And where have you been and] what have you been doing while your people were thrown into the burning hell and I kept you alive?” (www) [Where have you been and] what have you been doing while I stayed at home and made money? (www) 478 9. Temporal subordination in the various time-zones Oh, Max, what have you been making while I was asleep? (www) What have you been doing while you were incarcerated? (www) If the speaker wants to emphasize that the while-clause situation is still ongoing at t 0 , he will use the present tense in the while clause: [Where have you been and] what have you been doing while I stay at home and make money? (ϭ ‘I stay at home and make money, and what have you been doing so far while I do that?’) What have you been drinking while you watch the Discovery Channel? (www) [Please talk about your experience.] What have you been doing while you’re here [and what’s it meant to you?] (www) So what has Apple been doing while the Microsoft train gains speed? (www) 9.10.5 In the previous subsections of section 9.10 (which deals with the use of tenses in subclauses depending on a head clause with an up-to-now reading), we have only considered head clauses with an unmarked up-to-now reading or with a nonquantificational constitution reading (viz. the what-questions). The same rules in principle apply to sentences whose head clause receives a quantifi- cational constitution reading. The following example may suffice: This is the third time you have refused to give him something he {really needed / has really needed / really needs}. (Needed expresses T-simultaneity with the subsitu- ations making up the hypersituation of the head clause; has needed establishes a W- simultaneous pre-present domain; needs establishes a present domain.) 9.11 Shifting the domain after a continuative perfect If the pre-present domain is established by a ‘continuative perfect’ (which is the case when the time of the full situation is taken to include t 0 ), shifting the domain is the rule, though there are exceptions in which the domain is expanded as if it were a past domain (see 9.12). 9.11.1 When a present perfect clause receives a continuative interpretation, the situation time leads up to t 0 (without including it) but the time of the full situation is taken to include t 0 . If a new clause is to be temporally subordinated to such a clause, the T-relation expressed by the tense form of the new clause must normally start from t 0 . This is because t 0 is the most basic time in the tense system, and because it is difficult for the speaker to be concerned at the same time with the present part of the full situation and a part of it which is completely over. (Expanding a pre-present domain as if it were a past one implies that the speaker treats the binding time as a past time.) II. Temporal relations in a pre-present domain 479 In sum, when the head clause in the present perfect is given a continuative interpretation, the default case is for the subclause to use an absolute tense, which ‘shifts the domain’, i. e. establishes a new domain. (There are very few exceptions to this rule. They will be examined in section 9.12.) So an important point to be made right from the beginning is that when we talk of ‘T-relations on a continuative reading’, we are not thinking of temporal subordination (T- relations in a pre-present domain) but of ‘absolute T-relations’, i. e. T-relations that start from t 0 and are only realized when there is a shift of domain. The same point is made in the section on present domains. There we write the fol- lowing: A situation that is to be temporally related to a present situation time is, effectively, temporally related to t 0 . That is, a T-relation to a present orientation time has to start from t 0 . Logically, however, any T-relation that starts from t 0 is an ‘absolute deictic relation’: any tense form relating its situation time to t 0 is an absolute tense form, which creates a temporal domain of its own. This means that it is not possible to express a T-relation with the central orientation time of a present domain by means of a finite verb form: a present domain cannot be expanded by the use of relative tense forms. In each of the following examples, the subclauses use absolute tense forms, thus shifting the domain. The following sentences illustrate the use of an absolute tense in a subclause depending on a head clause receiving a continuative perfect interpretation: Since then I’ve felt I was wrong to insult the teacher in public. (absolute past tense) For three years now we’ve noticed that the house has needed repairs. I’ve always known that Jim is very intelligent. For a long time now Sam has believed that he will become famous one day. 9.11.2 On a continuative interpretation, the time of the full situation starts at some point before t 0 and leads up to and includes t 0 . A full situation that is W-anterior to such a continuative situation necessarily lies wholly before t 0 . To refer to it, the speaker can make use of the two absolute tenses that T- locate the time of a situation wholly before t 0 , namely the absolute past tense, which locates the situation in the past time-sphere, or the present perfect on an indefinite reading, which locates the situation (as lying wholly before t 0 )in the pre-present zone. In both cases, of course, the choice of tense effects a shift of domain in the subclause. It is important to remember that when the speaker uses an absolute tense, no temporal relation is actually expressed between the situation referred to and any other situation referred to in the discourse. Thus the speaker of the first example below is simply saying that Jim has passed all his exams and that the speaker has known about this since last week. What tells us to locate the passing of the exams temporally prior to the knowing is the fact that one 480 9. Temporal subordination in the various time-zones cannot know about the actualization of a bounded situation until the situation has actualized completely. I have known since last week that Jim has passed all his exams. (indefinite present perfect) I have known for some time that it was not Bill who stole the money. (absolute past tense) Ever since I talked to him I have felt that he has shown me the right path. (indefinite present perfect) I have known for some time that he died in 1900 [but I just recently found the specific date and place]. (www) (absolute past tense) Figure 9.7 represents the tense structure of the first example. (The dotted arrow represents the time of the full situation.) Figure 9.7. The tense structure of I have known for some time that Jim has passed all his exams. 9.11.3 If the full situation of the new clause, which shifts the domain, is intended to be interpreted as W-simultaneous with the continuative situation located in the pre-present domain, there are two possibilities as to the absolute tense that can be used. (a) If the speaker wants the subclause to be interpreted continuatively (like the head clause), he will again use a continuative present perfect: We’ve been having trouble with the neighbours ever since we’ve been living here. I’ve known for many years now that John has been handicapped since he was born. (b) If the speaker wants the subclause situation to be interpreted as having at least one point in common with the head clause situation (which is the definition of W-simultaneity Ϫ see 2.18.2), he can use either a present perfect or the present tense. The present perfect is possible as long as it is not interpreted as an indefinite perfect which locates its situation time entirely before the full situation of the head clause (as in Figure 9.7). The present tense is only possible under certain conditions Ϫ e. g. the situation has to be homogeneous (see below). The sheriff has known for some time that Big John {has been /*is} in town since last week. (Since last week requires the present perfect.) II. Temporal relations in a pre-present domain 481 [I’ve been looking for John for days now and] all this time you have known that he is away for two weeks without telling me! Since then I’ve realized that my son {has been / is} out of control. (There is W- simultaneity, i. e. overlap, as long as has been is not interpreted as actualizing at a time which precedes the beginning of the situation referred to by have realized.) [He whooped me one time when I was 15] so ever since then I’ve known he’s a really tough player. (www) [You know, ever since we have been working on this project,] I’ve had the strangest feeling that someone {is / has been} checking on us. That the present tense can be used to refer to a situation that is meant to be interpreted as W-simultaneous with a situation leading up to and including t 0 follows from the fact that, unlike T-simultaneity, W-simultaneity requires no more than that the two situations have at least one point in common Ϫ see 2.18.2. This means that it is sufficient that both the times of the full situations are interpreted as including t 0 . The present perfect will especially be used if the speaker wants to explicitly represent the situation as starting in the past and continuing into the present; if this is not the case, the present tense is more natural. In both cases the tense establishes a new domain (which is interpreted as W-simultaneous with that established by the tense in the head clause). The use of the present tense is only possible if the situation (and the clause repre- senting it Ϫ see 1.36.4) is homogeneous, because only in that case can the situation that is located at (i. e. represented as coinciding with) t 0 be interpreted as starting before t 0 . (This is the same restriction as excludes the simultaneity reading of wrote a book in He said that he wrote a book Ϫ see 8.25.5). The following examples (in which the subclause is each time a complement clause) further illustrate all this: I have suspected for some time that he {is seeing / has been seeing} another woman. (The subclause is homogeneous because it is L-nonbounded as a result of the use of the progressive form.) I have suspected for months that he {*is / has been} abroad since then. (The present perfect has to be used because since then explicitly refers to a pre-present period.) I have suspected for months that he {is /#has been} abroad. (Has been does not receive a W-simultaneity reading here because in the absence of a duration adverbial the clause receives an indefinite rather than a continuative interpretation Ϫ see 5.4.7.) For how long have I been telling you that he {loves /#has loved} another girl? (For lack of an adverbial referring to a period up to now in the that-clause, he has loved another girl receives an indefinite rather than a continuative interpretation.) I have known for some time that he is HIV, [but am very shocked and saddened about his declining health]. (www) 482 9. Temporal subordination in the various time-zones Since then I have felt I’ve been living on borrowed time. (www) (Both perfects are continuative.) [“You’re scaring me now.” Ϫ “I’m sorry.” Hyzenthlay gasped] “But I have been having the distinct feeling that someone has been watching us. (www) (id.) The following are examples in which the subclause is not a complement clause: We have been staying in this house while the owners {have been / are} abroad for a few months. Kerry has been out of the spotlight during the time when Bush is facing negative momentum. (www) I’ve been reading loads of novels while I {have been / am} stuck in bed with this broken leg. [Owners of lost pets have had trouble finding their pets because] so many shelters have been open only during the time that owners are at work. (www) However, of the two tenses only the present perfect can be used if the full situation of the subclause is to be interpreted as coinciding with the full situa- tion of the head clause: Ever since this morning I have been scrubbing floors while you {have been lolling / *are lolling} around the house. The house has been deserted all the time I {have been /*am} away. Have all these things been lying in here while the door {has been /*is} open? [Sup- pose they had been stolen.] 9.11.4 If the situation time of a new clause which shifts the domain is W- posterior to the situation time of a continuative pre-present domain, it has to be located in the post-present zone by means of the future tense or a futurish form. This follows from the fact that, since a continuative interpretation means that the time of the factual full situation reaches up to and includes t 0 , only situations that are W-posterior to t 0 can be interpreted as W-posterior to the continuative full situation. A future tense form or futurish form locates the situation time of the situation which is W-posterior to t 0 in the post-present, thus establishing a post-present temporal domain. (As explained in 2.9.1, a post-present domain can be created by an absolute future tense form Ϫ with shall or will Ϫ or by the present tense of be going to, be to, be about to,or by a present tense effecting a shift of temporal perspective from the present to the post-present, as in I’m leaving in a minute.) The following examples il- lustrate this shift of domain from the pre-present to the post-present: I have known for some time that he {is going to / will / is about to} leave the coun- try. Since when has it been clear that Steve’s injury is still bad and that his substitute will be playing instead? . because t 0 is the most basic time in the tense system, and because it is difficult for the speaker to be concerned at the same time with the present part of the full situation and a part of it which. expanded by the use of relative tense forms. In each of the following examples, the subclauses use absolute tense forms, thus shifting the domain. The following sentences illustrate the use of an absolute. depends on the degree of ‘pastness’ that the speaker can attribute to (part of) the up-to-now situation referred to in the head clause. What have you been doing while I {have been / was} away? (The