The syntax and semantics of tensed nominals

Abstract

Sadler and Nordlinger (2001) provides a descriptive overview of the phenomenon of independent nominal tense, whereby tense marking on a nominal temporally situates the nominal itself, independent of the tense of the proposition. In this paper we build on this descriptive work by exploring the lines along which an lfg analysis might be developed of the syntax and semantics of different types of nominally-scoped tense marking attested in a range of languages. While the analysis of independent nominal tense is relatively straightforward in lfg, it interacts in interesting ways with the encoding of possession, and with the use of nominals as predicates of verbless clauses, having implications for the f-structure analyses of these aspects of linguistic structure.