616 12. Preterite vs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials 12.13 Until-adverbials 12.13.1 Prepositional phrases and adverbial clauses introduced by until (or up to, till, up till) can be used as pure duration adverbials (specifying the duration of the full situation). In that case the adverbial is compatible with various tenses. I {had worked / worked / would work / have worked / will work / will have worked} until three in the morning. 12.13.2 The combination not … until X is often used in the sense of ‘as late as X’, ‘only at X’. John didn’t leave until midnight. (ϭ ‘John only left at midnight’, ‘John left as late as midnight’, ‘It was midnight before John left’) The boss wasn’t in his office until noon. (This is ambiguous between ‘It is not true that the boss was in his office until noon’ and ‘It was noon before the boss was in his office’. On the former interpretation, not has wide scope over the whole sentence, on the latter it only has scope over until noon.) In such sentences, the not … until adverbial answers the question When? rather than How long? This means that such a not … until adverbial functions as a time-specifying adverbial (indicating a punctual time), not as a pure duration adverbial. In the remainder of section 12.13, we will disregard this Adv-time use of not … until. 12.13.3 An until-adverbial specifying a period up to a past orientation time is compatible with the past tense but is seldom used in combination with the present perfect. The present perfect is only possible if the period indicated by the until-adverbial is interpreted as an Adv-time-up-to-t 0 . I{stayed /*have stayed} with the body until the police came. He has stayed with his wife’s body until now. Up till now I’ve lodged only one complaint against her. It should be noted, however, that in negative sentences involving until now, up to now, up till now, etc., the past tense can be used to express a contrast between what was not the case before now but is the case now or is soon going to be the case: [Hazardous waste experts know that certain bacteria can essentially eat toxic waste, reducing it to less noxious substances.] But until now they didn’t know what mecha- nisms allowed these bacteria to devour chemicals. (www) (contrast with the present: now they do know) II. Temporal adverbials and the choice between past tense and present perfect 617 [I have finally enabled permanent links for each post, which appear to be working fine, and provided you with the ability to leave comments.] Sorry I didn’t do that until now. (www) [That’s true, but it can be easily fixed.] I didn’t do that until now because I thought that … (www) The use of the past tense in the latter example means that the speaker treats his ‘not doing that’ as a past situation. This does not mean that he is actually doing it at t 0 . Now usually refers to an interval which is somewhat longer than the punctual t 0 . The sentence is therefore fine if the speaker has decided to ‘do that’ soon. What counts is that the speaker has mentally detached himself from the situation of ‘not doing that’, i. e. that he perceives this as a situation from the past. In positive sentences involving until now, the present perfect can often be used as an alternative to the past tense. Compare: We { had / have had} a small car until now, but yesterday we bought a people-carrier. We had a small car until now. (implies: but that has now changed or is now going to change) We have had a small car until now. (This also implies that a situation is envisaged which entails that the situation that has held until now is no longer the case.) Similarly: Until now I {always shopped / have always shopped} locally, {but now I mostly shop on-line / but I’m looking into the possibility of shopping on-line}. Until now I {always shopped / have always shopped} locally. (This suggests that the situation referred to is now over or is soon going to be over. This interpretation is due to the Gricean Maxim of Relevance: if the speaker is still shopping locally, he will normally say I always shop locally or I have always shopped locally. The addi- tion of until now is only relevant if the situation has now changed or is now going to change.) We { had / have had} a small car until now, but yesterday we bought a people-carrier. 12.13.4 Until now is also compatible with a present perfect receiving a conti- nuative interpretation: Until now I {have lived / have been living} in the country. (continuative interpreta- tion: implies that I am still living in the country) The function of the until-adverbial here is that of a bifunctional adverbial. It specifies the period-up-to-t 0 throughout which the situation actualizes as well as the duration of the factual full situation. (It leaves open the possibility that the actualization will continue in the (as yet nonfactual) post-present, in other words that the potential full situation is longer than the actual one.) 618 12. Preterite vs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials 12.13.5 Until now can also combine with the present perfect in sentences receiving a nonquantificational constitution reading or an unmarked up-to- now reading: [There you are!] Where have you been until now? Until now she has worked intermittently for various companies. Until now I’ve lived in London, Paris, New York, Brussels and Berlin. [Since 1888, the solo parts have been sung by professionals.] From then until now, these soloists have either already had international recognition or have been young soloists who have gone on to have very successful careers. (www) 12.13.6 On a quantificational constitution reading, until now does not specify the duration of the individual subsituations. It only indicates the Adv-time-up- to-t 0 . However, in this case until now is normally replaced with up until now, up till now or up to now: {Up until now / up till now / up to now / ? until now} I’ve met him three times. 12.13.7 The addition of until now to an indefinite perfect sentence as a rule results in ungrammaticality if the sentence is positive, not if it is negative: I have already met her (*until now). I know Pisa because I have visited it a couple of times (*until now). I don’t know Pisa because I’ve never visited it until now. 12.13.8 Until-adverbials other than until now (or one of its synonyms) cannot indicate an Adv-time-up-to-t 0 . It follows that they can only appear in a present perfect sentence on an indefinite interpretation, in which case they function as pure duration adverbials. [Since I have been a student] I have always stayed in college until two days before Christmas. Sentences which do not contain another adverbial (specifying the required period up to now) can only use an indefinite present perfect if they are used in a contradictive way. This implies that the until-adverbial does not represent new information and that the nuclear accent of the sentence falls on have: I have (already) worked until three in the morning. This requires a suitable context, such as the following: [“You’re a lazy bastard. You’ve never worked until three in the morning.” Ϫ “That’s not true!] I have (already) worked until three in the morning. [Several times, in fact!]” Here the new information is that, contrary to what has been claimed, the situation of the speaker working until eight in the evening has actualized in the past. II. Temporal adverbials and the choice between past tense and present perfect 619 12.14 Before-adverbials 12.14.1 A before-adverbial is a time-specifying adverbial, not a pure duration adverbial or bifunctional adverbial. Depending on the temporal location of X in before X, it can combine with virtually any tense: I {left / had left / would leave / would have left / will leave / will have left} be- fore dark. A before-adverbial can only combine with the present tense in habitual senten- ces, in sentences using the ‘ Special Present Time-sphere System’ Ϫ see 3.2Ϫ10): I leave before dark every day. (habitual present) That day they already meet in the cottage before midday. (historic present) I’m leaving before dawn tomorrow. (present tense used as a futurish form) The present perfect can combine with before now and with before if this is interpreted as ‘before t 0 ’. I’ve seen that man {before now / before / *before breakfast this morning}. If X in ‘before X’ is a time other than t 0 , the adverbial can combine with an indefinite present perfect, but only to convey an (at least potentially) repetitive reading in which the before-adverbial forms part of the description of the situa- tion that is located in the pre-present Ϫ see 5.11.1: You think I’ve never got up before 5 o’clock? I can assure you I have got up before 5 o’clock. Many times. [When I’ve requested that our positions be posted on certain web sites,] the adver- tisement period has sometimes closed before the webmaster has updated his/her list. (www) [Difficulties have arisen under the current arrangements in so far as] the 21 day period has sometimes begun before the CAA has received all the information that it has needed to consider a planning application. (www) 12.14.2 A present perfect combining with before (now) can only yield an indefinite reading or a quantificational constitution reading. I know you. We’ve met before, haven’t we? (indefinite reading) This kind of disease has occurred in our village only twice before. (quantificational constitution reading) Have you been living in this house? (continuative reading: we cannot add before on this reading) Have you ever heard this before? (indefinite reading) How often have I told you this before? (quantificational constitution reading) 620 12. Preterite vs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials 12.14.3 The idea ‘before t 0 ’ usually lexicalizes as before rather than as before now. This is in keeping with the fact that t 0 is by definition given. 12.14.4 The use of tenses in sentences involving a before-clause will be exam- ined in detail in chapter 14. 12.15 The present perfect with adverbials referring to the present With adverbials referring directly to the present (at present, now, nowadays, these days), it is sometimes possible to use the present perfect (but obviously not the past tense) when evaluating the present state of affairs resulting from a pre-present situation. 12.15.1 Needless to say, a past tense cannot co-occur with a time adverbial referring to the present. On the other hand, the present perfect can be used with now and/or at present in sentences evaluating the present state of affairs resulting from a pre-present situation. We can distinguish between four types. First, the sentence may contain a quantificational NP and ‘measure’ the pro- gress which the situation starting before t 0 has made at t 0 . In this case at present can be used, but not now: {At present / *now / up to now} only half of the goods have been sold. [We will have to make a special effort to sell the rest.] {At present / *now / up to now} I’ve only met two of his four sisters. In this type, the VP (e. g. sell half of the goods) is ‘telic’ (see 1.39), and so is the kind of situation represented by the VP minus the quantifier (e. g. sell the goods). It is the telicity of the latter VP that is relevant: the speaker expresses how far the situation (which develops towards an inherent terminal point) has developed at t 0 . (The quantifier half of indicates the result of this measuring.) The present perfect naturally receives a quantificational constitution reading. The second type is similar, but now the VP is not telic and what is measured is the length of a situation that started before t 0 and still continues at t 0 . Both now and at present are acceptable. At present we’ve been living here for three months. [That’s not a very long time.] We’ve walked quite a long way now. [Isn’t it time we had a rest?] I’ve been working for seven hours on end now. Such sentences typically contain a pure duration adverbial or measure phrase. They naturally receive a continuative reading. II. Temporal adverbials and the choice between past tense and present perfect 621 In the third type, the speaker sums up what is the latest state in the actualiza- tion of a chain of dynamic situations. The sentence is interpreted as ‘Now it is the case that X is the latest event’: [He’s completely out of control. Last week he stole a bike.] Now he’s been arrested for dealing hash. (indefinite interpretation) [He’s completely out of control. Last week he stole a bike.] Now he’s been dealing hash. (nonquantificational constitution reading or unmarked up-to-now reading) In these examples, we cannot substitute at present for now. In the fourth type, the speaker evaluates a given state of affairs. The sentence is interpreted as ‘Now X appears to be the case’ or, more generally, ‘The latest state of affairs is that state X holds as a result of the actualization of Y’. It has become clear now that he is not to be trusted. 12.15.2 Nowadays can combine with the present perfect in the fourth of these meanings only: {At present / *nowadays} I’ve only met two of his four sisters. (interpretation 1) {At present / *nowadays} we’ve been living here for three months. (interpretation 2) [He’s completely out of control. Last week he stole a bike.] {Now / *nowadays] he’s been arrested for dealing hash. (interpretation 3) It has become unclear nowadays whether … (www) (interpretation 4) Nowadays, food has become easier to prepare. (www) (interpretation 4) 12.15.3 In Standard English, these days usually combines with the present tense: We’re caring more for our environment these days. Young actors have a greater instinct these days for film than they do for the stage. (BNC) These days Konitz plays everything from standards to samba. (BNC) However, the present perfect is possible too on the resultant state reading (ϭ the fourth interpretation pointed out in 12.15.1): 4 These days we have dealt very satisfactorily with the problem. (BNC) 4. The following examples reveal another, American English, use, which does not belong to Standard British English (yet?). In this use, these days can combine with a present perfect yielding a continuative interpretation. [Osama bin Laden had no comment.] He’s been awfully uncommunicative these days. (www) Oh Well. I haven’t gotten much done these days. [I’ve just been letting everything pass me by recently.] (www) We’ ve been pretty honest these days, and all of us have talked about our own inade- quacies and the inadequacies of our institutions. (www) 622 12. Preterite vs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials With women’s magazines these days warts have taken on an entirely new dimen- sion. (BNC) [Keith would hit them. Or raher he wouldn’t, but he would want to.] These days he has decided to be the sort of man who does not hit people. (BNC) These days, I’ve actually reached the point where I’ll just phone friends who e-mail me. [This makes no sense, of course.] (www) I’ve not only matured these days and act more my age, [but also I’ve grown spiritu- ally by leaps and bounds in recent months.] (www) [I asked these right-wing Bushites:] “Is that the new tone in Washington and the character and dignity we’ve been hearing so much about these days?” (www) 12.16 Tense choice with actualization adverbials ‘Actualization adverbials’ (e. g. already, always, not … yet, ever, never, still) referring to (non)actualization in a past period combine with the past tense. Those referring to (non)actualization in a period leading up to now combine with the present perfect, but in (especially spoken) Am. E. and to a lesser extent in colloquial Br. E., the past tense is often used as an alternative. 12.16.1 By actualization adverbials we mean such indefinite time expres- sions as already, always, not yet, ever, never and still, which do not inher- ently indicate a particular time but refer to (non)actualization in a particular period. They combine with the past tense if the period in question is a past one, i. e. is a period which precedes t 0 and is completely cut off from it, and with the present perfect if the period in question is a period leading up to now. In the latter case, a continuative reading is excluded. The trees were already shedding their leaves. (focus on the past time when the situa- tion was in progress) I’ve never spoken to the President. (The perfect receives either an indefinite read- ing Ϫ never ϭ ‘never in my life up to now’ Ϫ or, in a context asking when or how often I have spoken to the President, a quantificational constitution reading.) Did you ever beat him? (e. g. when both of you were still professional players) Have you ever beaten him? (e. g. in your life) I have already paid the bill. (indefinite perfect, with a resultativeness implicature) I have already been reading poetry. (In spite of the progressive form, the only pos- sible reading is noncontinuative: ‘There has already been a period-before-now during which I was reading poetry.) The opposition has not yet reacted to Mr Major’s speech. . of the goods) is ‘telic’ (see 1.39), and so is the kind of situation represented by the VP minus the quantifier (e. g. sell the goods). It is the telicity of the latter VP that is relevant: the. time other than t 0 , the adverbial can combine with an indefinite present perfect, but only to convey an (at least potentially) repetitive reading in which the before-adverbial forms part of the. living} in the country. (continuative interpreta- tion: implies that I am still living in the country) The function of the until-adverbial here is that of a bifunctional adverbial. It specifies the