Klein's (1994) theory of tense

Klein (1994) uses three time spans for the analysis of tense: TU (time of utterance), T_Sit (the time of situation) and TT (the topic time). The Topic Time "IS THE TIME SPAN TO WHICH THE SPEAKER’S CLAIM ON THIS OCCASION IS CONFINED" (Klein 1994: 4). For example, if a judge asksa witness: "What did you notice when you looked into the room?" and the witness answers: "There was a book on the table. It was in Russian", the Topic Time is the point in time at which the witnessed looked into the room.

Klein furthermore distinguishes three situation types:

• 0-state predicates include states that cannot be changed, e.g. "2+2=4"
• 1-state predicates include states that can change, e.g. "The light was on."
• 2-state predicates are dynamic, e.g. "John opend the door".

In Klein's theory tense expresses a relation between TT and TU; possible relations are INCL(uded in), AFTER, BEFORE. The major tense relations can thus be defined as follows:

	Schema	Tense	Example
1.	TU INCL TT	present tense	There was a book on the table.
2.	TU AFTER TT	past tense	John was in the garden.
3.	TU BEFORE TT	future tense	I will see John tomorrow.

Literature

• Klein, Wolfgang (1994). Time in Language. London: Routledge.