Article published In:
Lingvisticæ InvestigationesVol. 11:1 (1987) ► pp.1–47
Marking Time With The Passé Composé
Toward a Theory of the Perfect
In this paper, it is claimed that PC is a unitary, but complex category. It is shown that in analyzing PC, four temporal elements must be used: the deictic zero point, the time of the auxiliary, the time of the participle, and the time of focus. Given these, there are two different formulations for PC, one based on its affinity with the simple tense-aspects (PC-1), the other based on its relation to the compound tense-aspects (PC-2). The relevance of both of these is shown through the history of PC and the existence of the passé surcomposé. Evidence is also brought from iconicity (compositionality). All of this demonstrates that PC-1 and PC-2 are two endpoints of a continuum with many transitional uses in between. Various examples of these transitional types are given. Thus, it is concluded that PC evidences a dynamic counterbalance between polysemy on the one hand and general meaning on the other hand.
Cited by (16)
Cited by 16 other publications
Jalenques, Pierre
2022. Les temps composés en français et le participe passé : pour une analyse sémantique compositionnelle sur le plan de la diathèse. Langue française N° 213:1 ► pp. 41 ff. 
Seiler, Guido & Thilo Weber
Zybatow, Tatjana
2021. Hanna Fischer. 2018. Präteritumschwund im Deutschen. Dokumentation und Erklärung eines Verdrängungsprozesses (studia linguistica germanica 132). Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. 437 S.. Zeitschrift für Rezensionen zur germanistischen Sprachwissenschaft 13:1-2 ► pp. 10 ff.
Fischer, Hanna
2019. How to get lost. In Morphological Variation [Studies in Language Companion Series, 207], ► pp. 197 ff.
Fischer, Hanna
2020. Chapter 4. The development of the perfect in selected Middle and New Germanic languages. In Perfects in Indo-European Languages and Beyond [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 352], ► pp. 96 ff.
Bres, Jacques & Christel Le Bellec
Bres, Jacques & Christel Le Bellec
2019. Le participe passé et la construction analytique des temps verbaux en français. Journal of French Language Studies 29:03 ► pp. 323 ff.
Bres, Jacques & Christel Le Bellec
2021. The past participle and the periphrastic passive construction in French.
Lingvisticae Investigationes
44:1 ► pp. 37 ff.
AYOUN, DALILA
2014. The acquisition of future temporality by L2 French learners. Journal of French Language Studies 24:2 ► pp. 181 ff.
Apothéloz, Denis
2009. La quasi-synonymie du passé composé et du passé surcomposé dit « régional ». Pratiques :141-142 ► pp. 98 ff.
LABEAU, EMMANUELLE
2009. Le PS: cher disparu de la rubrique nécrologique?. Journal of French Language Studies 19:1 ► pp. 61 ff.
LABEAU, EMMANUELLE
2015. Il était une fois le passé simple. . .. Journal of French Language Studies 25:2 ► pp. 165 ff.
WILMET, MARC
2009. Le passé surcomposé sous la loupe. Journal of French Language Studies 19:3 ► pp. 381 ff.
Nishiyama, Atsuko
2006. The Meaning and Interpretations of the Japanese Aspect Marker -te-i-. Journal of Semantics 23:2 ► pp. 185 ff.
Musan, Renate
1999. Die Lesarten des Perfekts. Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik 29:1 ► pp. 6 ff.
Carruthers, J.
1994. The passé surcomposé régional: towards a definition of its function in contemporary spoken French. Journal of French Language Studies 4:2 ► pp. 171 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.