Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Comparative Syntax
- Cambridge Handbooks In Language And Linguistics
- The Cambridge Handbook of Comparative Syntax
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Comparative Syntactic Enterprise
- Part I Comparative Syntax: Theory, Methodology, and Data Collection
- Part II Comparative Syntax: Building Blocks and Combinatorial Properties
- 10 Words and Features
- 11 Pronouns
- 12 Functional Architecture of Nominal Phrases
- 13 Functional Architecture of Adjectival Phrases
- 14 Functional Architecture of Prepositional Phrases
- 15 Analyzing Tenselessness
- 16 Voice
- 17 Coordination
- 18 Clause Types
- Part III Comparative Syntax: Dependency Relations and Dependency Marking
- Part IV Comparative Syntax: Interfaces
- Index
- References
15 - Analyzing Tenselessness
from Part II - Comparative Syntax: Building Blocks and Combinatorial Properties
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2026
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Comparative Syntax
- Cambridge Handbooks In Language And Linguistics
- The Cambridge Handbook of Comparative Syntax
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Comparative Syntactic Enterprise
- Part I Comparative Syntax: Theory, Methodology, and Data Collection
- Part II Comparative Syntax: Building Blocks and Combinatorial Properties
- 10 Words and Features
- 11 Pronouns
- 12 Functional Architecture of Nominal Phrases
- 13 Functional Architecture of Adjectival Phrases
- 14 Functional Architecture of Prepositional Phrases
- 15 Analyzing Tenselessness
- 16 Voice
- 17 Coordination
- 18 Clause Types
- Part III Comparative Syntax: Dependency Relations and Dependency Marking
- Part IV Comparative Syntax: Interfaces
- Index
- References
Summary
This paper addresses a longstanding issue, that of the universality of tense, by assessing the theoretical and empirical claims underlying analyses of so-called tenseless languages. We distinguish the following typology of approaches. (i) Analyses that posit syntactic tense, distinguishing two subclasses: positing both semantic and syntactic covert tense, thus preserving the universality of tense, vs. positing covert syntactic but not semantic tense, thus preserving the universality of syntactic but not of semantic tense. (ii) Analyses refuting syntactic tense, distinguishing two further subclasses: positing covert semantic but not syntactic tense, thus preserving the universality of semantic but not syntactic tense, vs. positing neither semantic nor syntactic (covert) tense and thus refuting the universality of both. We then tackle an issue at the heart of many of the arguments for or against tensed/tenseless analyses: constraints on future time reference. We provide novel arguments for (absolute) future time reference in Chinese, and in light of these, conclude in favor of the universality of both syntactic and semantic tense, moreover correlating two putative tense universals.
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- The Cambridge Handbook of Comparative Syntax , pp. 464 - 499Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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