This paper contains two parts. In the first one, we shall argue that in the tense system of English there are particles which are best analysed as, what we call, backwards-looking operators. By means of these operators (whose formal counterparts are to a large extent new in the literature) we shall establish the following limiting thesis concerning an adequate semantics for English tenses: For all natural numbers n, the semantics should have a capacity to keep track of n points introduced earlier in an evaluation. In the second part of this paper, we shall present a formal language which contains operators of this new kind. We formulate explicit model theory for this formal language in Hintikka's game-theoretical semantics. This semantical approach is sufficiently rich to satisfy the condition laid down by the limiting thesis mentioned.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1979 D. Reidel Publishing Company
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Saarinen, E. (1979). Backwards-Looking Operators in Tense Logic and in Natural Language. In: Saarinen, E. (eds) Game-Theoretical Semantics. Synthese language library, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4108-2_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4108-2_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-3262-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4108-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive