Tense Theory Infrastructure: Shared Types #
@cite{abusch-1997} @cite{deal-2020} @cite{heim-kratzer-1998} @cite{klecha-2016} @cite{kratzer-1998} @cite{ogihara-1996} @cite{sharvit-2003} @cite{von-stechow-2009} @cite{wurmbrand-2014} @cite{zeijlstra-2012} @cite{banfield-1982} @cite{comrie-1985} @cite{egressy-2026} @cite{ogihara-sharvit-2012} @cite{schlenker-2003}
Shared types and infrastructure for the tense theories formalized in
Semantics.Intensional/Tense/ and
Minimalism/Tense/.
Design Principle #
Verdicts are derived from compositional semantics, not stipulated.
Each theory file proves derivation theorems for the phenomena it handles;
the comparison matrix (Comparisons/TenseTheories.lean) is assembled
from what's been proven. There is no TheoryVerdict enum — whether a
theory "handles" a phenomenon is witnessed by the existence (or absence)
of a derivation theorem in that theory's file.
Key Types #
TensePhenomenon: the 23 temporal phenomena that distinguish theoriesTenseTheory: identity card for a theory (no verdict field)AttitudeTemporalSemantics: how an attitude verb shifts eval time
The 24 temporal phenomena that distinguish tense theories.
Each phenomenon represents an empirical domain where theories make different predictions or use different mechanisms. The comparison matrix is built from which derivation theorems each theory proves for each phenomenon.
The first 11 are the core comparison set. The next 7 are eventual targets documented with data frames. The final 6 are added for @cite{zeijlstra-2012}, @cite{wurmbrand-2014}, @cite{sharvit-2003}, and @cite{tsilia-zhao-2026} coverage.
- pastUnderPast_shifted : TensePhenomenon
"John said Mary was sick" — shifted reading (sick before saying)
- pastUnderPast_simultaneous : TensePhenomenon
"John said Mary was sick" — simultaneous reading (sick at saying)
- presentUnderPast_doubleAccess : TensePhenomenon
"John said Mary is sick" — double-access reading
- futureUnderPast : TensePhenomenon
"John said Mary would leave" — embedded future
- sotVsNonSOT : TensePhenomenon
English (SOT) vs Japanese (non-SOT) parametric variation
- upperLimitConstraint : TensePhenomenon
Abusch's upper limit constraint: no forward-shifted readings
- relativeClauseTense : TensePhenomenon
"the man who was tall" — relative clause tense interpretation
- modalTenseInteraction : TensePhenomenon
"John might have left" — modal scoping over past
- counterfactualTense : TensePhenomenon
"If John were here..." — past morphology, non-temporal
- temporalDeRe : TensePhenomenon
"John believed it was raining" — de re temporal reference
- deletionVsAmbiguity : TensePhenomenon
Kratzer (deletion) vs Ogihara (zero tense ambiguity) debate
- sotInIndirectQuestions : TensePhenomenon
"John asked who was sick" — SOT in indirect questions
- freeIndirectDiscourse : TensePhenomenon
"She walked to the window. The garden was beautiful." — FID perspective shift without attitude verb
- historicalPresent : TensePhenomenon
"Napoleon enters the room. He sees..." — present tense, past reference
- perfectTenseInteraction : TensePhenomenon
"John said Mary had been sick" — pluperfect disambiguates to shifted only
- futureOrientedComplements : TensePhenomenon
"John wanted/planned to leave" — future-oriented complements without standard SOT
- adjunctClauseTense : TensePhenomenon
"Before John left, Mary was happy" — tense in temporal adjuncts
- indexicalTenseShift : TensePhenomenon
Amharic/Zazaki: tense shifts under attitudes paralleling pronoun shift
- embeddedPresentPuzzle : TensePhenomenon
"John will say Mary is sick" — present under future, simultaneous with future saying time
- lifetimeEffects : TensePhenomenon
"Aristotle was a philosopher" — past tense ↔ subject no longer exists implication (@cite{musan-1995}/1997)
- fakePast : TensePhenomenon
"If John were taller..." — past morphology, non-past semantics (@cite{iatridou-2000}, beyond Deal's counterfactual tense)
- optionalSOT : TensePhenomenon
Hebrew-type optional SOT: "John said Mary {was/is} sick" — both possible with different readings
- dependentVsIndependentTense : TensePhenomenon
@cite{wurmbrand-2014}: three-way classification of infinitival tense (future irrealis / propositional / restructuring)
- thenPresentIncompatibility : TensePhenomenon
Temporal "then" is incompatible with shifted present but compatible with deleted tense — derived from tense presuppositions anchored to π
- sizeSensitiveSOT : TensePhenomenon
Hungarian-type size-sensitive SOT: simultaneous reading available in TP complements but blocked in CP complements. Clause size determines whether [uPAST] can Agree upward across the complement boundary
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- Semantics.Tense.instBEqTensePhenomenon.beq x✝ y✝ = (x✝.ctorIdx == y✝.ctorIdx)
Instances For
A tense theory's identity card.
This records the structural properties of each account — what mechanisms it posits — without encoding verdicts. Whether the theory handles a given phenomenon is determined by the existence of derivation theorems in the theory's file.
Fields are Bool because they describe categorical properties of the formal system, not graded judgments.
- name : String
Theory name (e.g., "@cite{abusch-1997}")
- citation : String
Full citation
- hasTemporalDeRe : Bool
Does the theory have a temporal de re mechanism?
- hasULC : Bool
Does the theory impose an upper limit constraint?
- hasZeroTense : Bool
Does the theory posit a zero tense (ambiguous past)?
- hasSOTDeletion : Bool
Does the theory use SOT deletion for the simultaneous reading?
- hasAgreeBasedSOT : Bool
Does the theory use syntactic Agree for SOT?
- hasPresuppositionalTense : Bool
Does the theory treat tenses as presupposition triggers?
- hasSizeSensitiveSOT : Bool
Does the theory predict size-sensitive SOT?
- simultaneousMechanism : String
How the theory derives the simultaneous reading
Instances For
Equations
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
How an attitude verb shifts the evaluation time for its complement.
All six theories agree that attitude verbs modify the temporal evaluation context of their complement. They differ in the formal mechanism (eval time shift, feature checking, deletion, binding). This structure captures the shared interface.
- shiftEvalTime : Core.Reichenbach.ReichenbachFrame Time → Time
Given a matrix Reichenbach frame, compute the eval time for the embedded clause. Typically = matrix event time.
- embeddedConstraint : Time → Time → Prop
The temporal constraint imposed on the embedded clause: embeddedRefTime must stand in this relation to the shifted eval time.
Instances For
Standard eval time shift: embedded eval time = matrix event time. This is the default across all six theories.
Equations
- Semantics.Tense.standardShift = { shiftEvalTime := fun (f : Core.Reichenbach.ReichenbachFrame Time) => f.eventTime, embeddedConstraint := fun (_embR _evalT : Time) => True }
Instances For
Standard shift gives matrix event time.
A phenomenon is a core SOT phenomenon if all theories handle it.
Equations
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.pastUnderPast_shifted.isCoreSOT = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.pastUnderPast_simultaneous.isCoreSOT = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.presentUnderPast_doubleAccess.isCoreSOT = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.sotVsNonSOT.isCoreSOT = true
- x✝.isCoreSOT = false
Instances For
A phenomenon is a distinguishing phenomenon if theories diverge on it.
Equations
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.relativeClauseTense.isDistinguishing = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.modalTenseInteraction.isDistinguishing = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.counterfactualTense.isDistinguishing = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.temporalDeRe.isDistinguishing = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.deletionVsAmbiguity.isDistinguishing = true
- x✝.isDistinguishing = false
Instances For
A phenomenon is an eventual target — documented with data but not yet connected to derivation theorems in the theory files.
Equations
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.sotInIndirectQuestions.isEventualTarget = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.freeIndirectDiscourse.isEventualTarget = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.historicalPresent.isEventualTarget = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.perfectTenseInteraction.isEventualTarget = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.futureOrientedComplements.isEventualTarget = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.adjunctClauseTense.isEventualTarget = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.indexicalTenseShift.isEventualTarget = true
- x✝.isEventualTarget = false
Instances For
A phenomenon is in the extended set added for Zeijlstra/Wurmbrand/Sharvit.
Equations
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.embeddedPresentPuzzle.isExtended = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.lifetimeEffects.isExtended = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.fakePast.isExtended = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.optionalSOT.isExtended = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.dependentVsIndependentTense.isExtended = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.thenPresentIncompatibility.isExtended = true
- Semantics.Tense.TensePhenomenon.sizeSensitiveSOT.isExtended = true
- x✝.isExtended = false
Instances For
Every phenomenon falls into exactly one of the five categories.
Construct the Reichenbach frame for an embedded clause under an attitude verb.
The key operation: embedded perspective time P' = matrix event time E. The embedded clause's tense locates its R' relative to P' = E_matrix, not relative to S (speech time).
embeddedR and embeddedE are the embedded clause's reference and event
times, determined by its tense and aspect.
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
The two available readings for embedded past under past.
When past tense appears in the complement of a past-tense attitude verb, the embedded past can be interpreted as:
- shifted: the embedded event occurred BEFORE the matrix event (R' < P' = E_matrix)
- simultaneous: the embedded event occurred AT the matrix event time (R' = P' = E_matrix), via SOT deletion (@cite{ogihara-1989}, §11.2 (83))
- shifted : EmbeddedTenseReading
- simultaneous : EmbeddedTenseReading
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- Semantics.Tense.instBEqEmbeddedTenseReading.beq x✝ y✝ = (x✝.ctorIdx == y✝.ctorIdx)
Instances For
Available readings depend on the SOT parameter of the language.
SOT languages (English): both shifted and simultaneous readings. Non-SOT languages (Japanese): only shifted (absolute tense).
Equations
Instances For
The simultaneous reading: embedded R = matrix E.
"John said Mary was sick" (she was sick AT THE TIME of saying). The embedded reference time equals the matrix event time, so embedded tense = PRESENT relative to embedded P.
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
The shifted reading: embedded R < matrix E.
"John said Mary had been sick" (she was sick BEFORE the saying). The embedded reference time precedes the matrix event time, so embedded tense = PAST relative to embedded P.
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
In a past-under-past configuration with the shifted reading, the embedded reference time is past relative to speech time.
Derivation: R' < E_matrix ≤ R_matrix < P_matrix = S Therefore R' < S, which is PAST relative to speech time.
In a past-under-past configuration with the simultaneous reading, the embedded reference time is still past relative to speech time.
Derivation: R' = E_matrix ≤ R_matrix < P_matrix = S Therefore R' < S.
Present-under-past with the simultaneous reading: embedded R = matrix E.
The simultaneous frame satisfies PRESENT (R = P) relative to embedded P.
The simultaneousFrame satisfies the time-equality R = P.
In SOT languages, the simultaneous reading is available.
In SOT languages, the shifted reading is available.
In non-SOT languages, only the shifted reading is available.
Non-SOT languages do not have the simultaneous reading.
@cite{abusch-1997}'s Upper Limit Constraint #
In intensional contexts, tense reference cannot exceed the local evaluation time. From branching futures: at the attitude event time, future branches diverge, so no time beyond the attitude time is accessible across all doxastic alternatives.
ULC: embedded R' ≤ matrix E (= embedded P).
@cite{abusch-1997}'s Upper Limit Constraint. In intensional contexts, the tense reference cannot exceed the local evaluation time.
Equations
- Semantics.Tense.upperLimitConstraint embeddedR matrixE = (embeddedR ≤ matrixE)
Instances For
The ULC blocks the forward-shifted reading. If embedded R' must satisfy R' ≤ E_matrix (ULC) AND R' > E_matrix (forward shift), contradiction.
Shifted reading satisfies ULC: R' < E_matrix → R' ≤ E_matrix.
Simultaneous reading satisfies ULC: R' = E_matrix → R' ≤ E_matrix.
TensePronoun Projections onto SOT Frames #
The TensePronoun type in Core.Tense unifies the five views of tense.
The following theorems show that simultaneousFrame and shiftedFrame
are projections of specific tense pronouns — a bound present pronoun gives
the simultaneous reading; a free past pronoun gives the shifted reading.
The simultaneous reading = bound present tense pronoun. A present-constraint tense pronoun whose variable resolves to P (the matrix event time) produces a simultaneousFrame.
The shifted reading = free past tense pronoun. A past-constraint tense pronoun whose variable resolves to some R' < P produces a shiftedFrame.
Double-access: present-under-past requires the complement to hold at BOTH speech time AND matrix event time.
This bridges the doubleAccess definition from Core.Tense to the
SOT analysis: the present-under-past frame's R = P (simultaneous),
and the speech time is independently accessible via indexical rigidity.
Ogihara's synthesis: bound tense (zero tense) + attitude binding = simultaneous reading. The zero tense variable receives the matrix event time via lambda abstraction; the Reichenbach frame has R = P.
A "then"-type temporal adverb. Cross-linguistically, "then" shifts the perspective time P away from the speech time S (@cite{zhao-2025}, @cite{tsilia-zhao-2026}).
- language : String
Language name
- form : String
Surface form
- gloss : String
English gloss
- shiftsPerspective : Bool
"then" shifts P away from S: P ≠ S after "then" applies.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
- Semantics.Tense.instBEqThenAdverb.beq x✝¹ x✝ = false