532 10. Two tense systems with post-present reference unspecified orientation time which is T-anterior to the central orientation time of the post-present domain. The head clause is interpreted as ‘For exactly six months you will have had the intention of paying me back’.) 10.1.2 An absolute-relative tense differs from a purely absolute one in that it relates its situation time to an orientation time in a post-present domain and not to t 0 . It therefore fails to make explicit the temporal W-relation that holds between the situation time in question and t 0 , and can therefore be used irre- spective of whether the situation time lies before, at, or after t 0 : [If there is a strike the day after tomorrow,] we’ll have worked in vain {yesterday / today / tomorrow}. 2 10.1.3 In the same way as absolute tense forms can be used as pseudo-abso- lute forms when they expand a post-present domain (see 9.17.3), the future perfect can be used as a ‘pseudo-absolute-relative’ tense rather than as an ‘abso- lute-relative’ one. This is the case when the origin of the T-posteriority relation is not t 0 but a post-present pseudo-t 0 , as in the following: He will say that he will have finished before 5 o’clock. The tense structure of this sentence is represented by Figure 10.1. Figure 10.1. The tense structure of He will say that he will have finished before 5 o’clock. 2. Imagine the following setting for this sentence: yesterday it was Saturday, but the workers of a particular firm worked all the same because they were behind schedule and wanted to catch up. Today, however, they hear on the radio that there may be a strike the day after tomorrow in one of their supply companies. If the strike goes through, they will soon be unable to continue working and will be behind schedule again. Under these circumstances, one of the workers might utter this sentence. I. Introduction 533 10.2 The Pseudo-t 0 -System 10.2.1 It has been explained in 9.17.1 that once a post-present domain has been established and we want to incorporate a situation time into it, we treat the central orientation time of the post-present domain as if it were a present orientation time, i. e. as if it coincided with t 0 . This means that in order to T- relate a situation time to this ‘ pseudo-t 0 ’ we use one of the same tenses as we use to T-relate a situation time to t 0 . That is, the tenses used to expand a post- present domain are not formally distinguishable from the absolute tenses. This is clear from examples like the following: [If we dump his body in Soho after we have killed him] the police will think that he was killed there. Next Friday his excuse for being late will probably be that he has been sitting in a traffic jam caused by the Pope’s visit. [When you arrive in Tokyo] you will find that it is already dark. [If I make up my mind to resign] you will be the first to hear when exactly I will do so. In each of these examples the head clause establishes a post-present domain and the situation time of the complement clause is incorporated into it. Since the speaker treats the central orientation time as if it were t 0 ,heusesa‘pseudo-abso- lute ’ tense form in the subclause. That is, the tenses used to relate a situation time to the central orientation time of a post-present domain are the preterite or the present perfect for T-anteriority, the present tense for T-simultaneity and the future tense for T-posteriority. In what follows we will call this system of tenses used to express a T-relation in a post-present domain the pseudo-t 0 -System. (This replaces the term ‘Present Perspective System’, which we used in earlier publications.) 3 The label ‘Pseudo-t 0 -System’ captures the fact that this system is based on a shift of perspective: the post-present binding orientation time is treated as if it were t 0 . In other words, the speaker views the bound situation times from the perspective of a post-present pseudo-t 0 . The Pseudo-t 0 -System comprises not only pseudo-absolute tenses functioning as relative tenses establishing a subdomain within the post-present domain but also true relative tenses (like the past perfect) expanding a pseudo-past or pseudo-pre-present subdomain in a post-present domain. 3. The term ‘Present Perspective System’ was a misnomer, because it wrongly suggests that Pseudo-t 0 -System forms imply that the speaker looks at a situation from his present perspective, i. e. from t 0 . In actual fact, he views them from the perspective of a post- present pseudo-t 0 . 534 10. Two tense systems with post-present reference 10.2.2 The Pseudo-t 0 -System can be defined as the system of tenses used to expand a post-present domain, i. e. used to express a T-relation in an already established post-present domain. Under ‘Pseudo-t 0 -System tenses’ we therefore subsume not only pseudo-absolute tenses functioning as relative tenses estab- lishing a subdomain within the post-present domain but also true (genuine) relative tenses (like the past perfect) expanding a pseudo-past or pseudo-pre- present subdomain within the post-present domain. The pseudo-absolute tenses relate their situation time to a pseudo-t 0 in the post-present domain. (As shown in 9.21Ϫ22, the binding orientation time is a pseudo-t 0 when it is the central orientation time, or an orientation time that is T-simultaneous or T-posterior to the central orientation time, or an orientation time that is T-simultaneous or T-posterior to an orientation time which is T-simultaneous or T-posterior to the central orientation time, etc.) Pseudo-t 0 -System forms that expand a pseudo-past or pseudo-present subdomain are not pseudo-absolute forms. Con- sider: After the interview they will check whether what you told them (at the interview) was true. In this example, the form told is a pseudo-absolute tense form representing its situation time as T-anterior to the central orientation time (ϭ pseudo-t 0 ). This told creates a pseudo-past subdomain which is developed as if it were a genuine (true) past domain. The relative past tense form was expresses T-simultaneity within this subdomain. Since both past tense forms express a relation in the post-present domain, both of them are used as Pseudo-t 0 -System forms. How- ever, only the first of them is a pseudo-absolute tense form. All this should be clear from Figure 10.2. Figure 10.2. The tense structure of After the interview they will check whether what you told them (at the interview) was true. I. Introduction 535 In sentences like I’m leaving tomorrow, the present tense form is not a Pseudo-t 0 - System form but represents a shift of perspective from the post-present to the present. 10.2.3 Pseudo-t 0 -System forms should be distinguished carefully from another use of the present tense with future time reference, viz. that illustrated by sentences like the following: I’m leaving tomorrow. Next year Christmas falls on a Wednesday. This use of the present tense is also the result of a shift of perspective: a post- present situation is treated as if it were a present one. However, this use is clearly different from the use of the present tense in the Pseudo-t 0 -System. For one thing, the shift of perspective which occurs here has a semantic effect which is absent if the present tense is a Pseudo-t 0 -System form: in the above examples the post-present situation is represented as ‘pre-determined’ at t 0 ,i.e. as depending on a present arrangement, programme, plan, etc. (see 3.8Ϫ9). For another, this use of the present tense is mainly found in clauses that are syntac- tically independent, whereas the Pseudo-t 0 -System cannot be used in that type of clause at all (see below). Moreover, this use of the present tense can be found in head clauses supporting a subordinate clause using the Pseudo-t 0 -System: We’re having a picnic tomorrow, if it does not rain. (Does is a Pseudo-t 0 -System form.) This means that the present tense in its ‘arranged future’ use resembles the future tense of the Absolute Future System in that it creates a post-present domain. Such a present tense form is thus a ‘futurish’ tense form. By contrast, a Pseudo-t 0 -System form is generally unable to establish a post-present domain (except in an indirect way Ϫ see 9.16 and 9.22.1). It consists of forms that are used to express a T-relation within a post-present domain already established by another clause. 10.3 Outline of the distribution of the two systems 10.3.1 We will conclude these introductory remarks with a brief note on the different distributions of the two systems. As noted above, one of the basic distributional differences between the Absolute Future System and the Pseudo- t 0 -System is that only the former can be used in syntactically independent clauses. This is clear from the following examples: 536 10. Two tense systems with post-present reference (1) (Whatever happens, it will be no use asking him for details.) He will say that he has not seen anything, has not heard anything, and that he does not know any- thing at all. (2) (Whatever happens, it will be no use asking him for details.) He will not have seen anything, he will not have heard anything, and he will not know anything at all. (3) (Whatever happens, it will be no use asking him for details.) #He has not seen anything, has not heard anything, and he does not know anything at all. In (1) we have an instance of indirect reported speech, with Pseudo-t 0 -System forms in the that-clauses. In (2)Ϫ(3) the reporting clause he will say has been dropped, so that we have ‘free indirect speech’, i. e. the reported clauses are syntactically independent. Example (2) shows that the result is impeccable if we use Absolute Future System forms, whereas (3) shows that the result is bad (since we get an incoherent piece of discourse) if we try using Pseudo-t 0 -System forms: the present perfect forms in (3) are not interpreted as Pseudo-t 0 -System forms at all, but rather as absolute tense forms (representing their situations as anterior to t 0 ). 10.3.2 Subordinate clauses fall into three groups as regards the choice be- tween the Pseudo-t 0 -System and the Absolute Future System. In some of them (e. g. nonrestrictive relative clauses) the Absolute Future System is obligatory; others (e. g. adverbial time clauses) require the Pseudo-t 0 -System, whereas still others (e. g. restrictive relative clauses) allow either system. For example: The meeting will be declared open by John, who {will also explain / *also explains} its main purpose. The meeting will no doubt come to an end before it {is /*will be} 11 p.m. [The shopkeeper will leave] when/after he {has /*will have} locked up. At the airport you will be met by a man who {is wearing / will be wearing}a red jacket. [I predict that some day John will be arrested] because he {is / will be} speeding. If John {is /#will be} in trouble, I will help him. (is expresses an ‘open condition’, will be a ‘closed’ one; the latter interpretation requires a preceding context Ϫ see 10.6.8 below) See sections 10.6Ϫ8 for a fuller discussion of the distribution of the two sys- tems. II. Theoretical analysis of the Absolute Future System and the Pseudo-t 0 -System 537 II. Theoretical analysis of the Absolute Future System and the Pseudo-t 0 -System The basic difference between the Absolute Future System and the Pseudo-t 0 -System is that tense forms from the former relate the situation time to t 0 , whereas tense forms from the Pseudo-t 0 -System relate the situation time to a post-present ‘basic orientation time’. From this it follows that an Absolute Future System form creates a post-present domain (which is at the same time a temporal domain and an intensional one), whereas the Pseudo-t 0 -System expresses a relation in an already existing domain. This means that the temporal specification effected by an Absolute Future System form is independ- ent of the surrounding linguistic context, whereas that effected by a Pseudo-t 0 -System form is not. A Pseudo-t 0 -System form requires a linguistic context providing the neces- sary post-present basic orientation time. The use of the Pseudo-t 0 -System in a subclause is then a sign that the situations referred to in the subclause and the head clause are closely related to each other, not only temporally but also logically: the subclause is fully integrated into the head clause, and the two situations are presented as forming an interpretive unit. 10.4 Characteristics of the two systems 10.4.1 Before going into the characteristics of the two systems it is necessary to point out that the basic function of a tense is to express a temporal structure which has the form of a chain of T-relations between orientation times. This chain, which may involve one or more T-relations, relates the situation time to a ‘basic orientation time’, either directly or via one or more intermediate orien- tation times. (As noted in 2.14, the time of the predicated situation (ϭ the situation time) is treated as an orientation time because the time of another situation can be related to it.) The basic orientation time is that orientation time in the structure of the tense from which the temporal relations expressed by the tense begin to be computed. In most cases the basic orientation time is t 0 , but there are cases in which it is a post-present binding orientation time (i. e. a pseudo-t 0 ). Compare: (4a) He has done it. (4b) [If he does it] he will have to admit to his wife that he has done it. In both (4a) and (4b) the present perfect form has done locates the situation time before the basic orientation time. In (4a) the basic orientation time is t 0 ; in (4b) it is a post-present situation time (the time of admitting), which is treated as if it were t 0 . This means that the two present perfect forms realize 538 10. Two tense systems with post-present reference the same temporal structure (viz. ‘situation time anterior to basic orientation time’), with the difference that the basic orientation time is t 0 in (4a) and a post-present ‘pseudo-t 0 ’ in (4b). (Note that in (4b) the basic orientation time is interpreted as W-posterior to t 0 , but that this relation is not signalled by the tense form has done itself: it is inferred from the use of the future tense in the head clause and (especially) from the presence of the clause if he does it, which refers to the post-present.) The following sentences involving a future tense form are similar to (4aϪb): (5a) He will do it. (5b) [If he decides to do it] he will have to admit to his wife that he will do it. Needless to say, will do is used as an Absolute Future System form in (5a) and as a Pseudo-t 0 -System form in (5b): in (5a) the situation referred to by He will do it is located posterior to t 0 ; in (5b) the situation referred to by he will do it is located posterior to the orientation time established by will have to admit). The essential difference between the two systems is therefore the different na- ture of the basic orientation time: in the Absolute Future System it is t 0 ,inthe Pseudo-t 0 -System it is a post-present orientation time referred to in the context. (Since the post-present orientation time is treated as if it were t 0 , the tense used to represent the situation time as T-posterior to the pseudo-t 0 is the same as the tense used to represent the situation time as T-posterior to t 0 , viz. the future tense.) 10.4.2 One consequence of the different nature of the basic orientation time is that the temporal specification effected by an Absolute Future System form is independent of the surrounding linguistic context, whereas that effected by a Pseudo-t 0 -System form is not. A Pseudo-t 0 -System form requires a linguistic context providing a post-present orientation time serving as basic orientation time for the Pseudo-t 0 -System form. In other words, for a subclause to use the Pseudo-t 0 -System, it is necessary that the head clause establishes a post-present domain. However, it should be remembered that this need not be done in an explicit way, i. e. by the use of an Absolute Future System form. As noted in 9.16, a post-present domain can also be established implicitly by the use of an imperative, an infinitive or another form implying post-present actualization: Do it when the others {have left / *will have left}. I hope to do it when the others {have left / *will have left}. What is necessary for the use of a Pseudo-t 0 -System form is that there is a post- present time available to function as basic orientation time. This time must be a situation time, but it need not be indicated by a tensed form. 10.4.3 It has been mentioned above that in subclauses we may find either the Absolute Future System or the Pseudo-t 0 -System (though in any given subclause only one of the two systems may be available Ϫ see sections 10.6Ϫ8 regarding . only the first of them is a pseudo-absolute tense form. All this should be clear from Figure 10.2. Figure 10.2. The tense structure of After the interview they will check whether what you told them. because the time of another situation can be related to it.) The basic orientation time is that orientation time in the structure of the tense from which the temporal relations expressed by the tense. signalled by the tense form has done itself: it is inferred from the use of the future tense in the head clause and (especially) from the presence of the clause if he does it, which refers to the post-present.) The