'n Voorstelling van tydsaanduiding in Afrikaans

Abstract

English: Lyons (1968) defines tense as. a systematic grammatical contrast.· The hipothesis is postulated that a distinct category tense exists in Afrikaans. Past tense is indicated by the auxiliary verb 'het' and past participle. An important aspect of the discussion is the deletion of tense. In the fu~ure tense a deep structure verb 'sal' is postulated in sentences like "More speel ans teen X." In the· past t:ense a deep structure 'pet' is postulated in sentences like "Giste_E swem ans." The underlying 'sal' is deleted in the first men= tioned case and 'het' in the latter case. The adverbs of time 'more' and 1gister1 has an.underlying reference to a time before or after the time of the performative verb. The sentence "Jan het geloop" shows a contract in presupposition when compared to the sentence "Jan 1002," where the sentence "Jan loop" refers to a present tense. The past tense is factive whereas the present tense represents a non-factive presupposition De Villiers (1968) describes the future tense as a modality; this view is supported in the study. sub-divided into: The future tense is (1) a future tense indicated by the auxiliary 'sal' (as well as kan, mag, etc.) and the modal adverbs "mi skien" etc •. (2) A future indicated by 'gaan' and (3) a future indicated by the adverb of time with a deleted ' ..: ,:.-<q\. . l_ ' • The future tense is non·-factive and non-implicative~ Two processes are emphasised in the discussion of the infinitive; anticident relationships as well as the role of the higher verb. The historical presence is regarded as having an underlying presence form with a past meaning. Botha (1973) regards the adjective as an underlying verb, this view is supported. The copula is inserted in surface structure. Tense refer= encc is found as part of the meaning of the e.djective~ It is postulated that an underlying 'het' is deleted by a transformation. Two aspects of the adjective are examined: (1) the co-occurance of the adjective and adverb of time; (2) the passive voice as an adjective const1uction. The preposition of time is regarded as an underlying verb. The preposition 'voor' couples the verb tenses of 'loop' in sentences such as Jan kom voor Koos kom. The distribution of time prepositions, as well as the similarity of measure phrases combining with time~ and place prepositions aie exa= mined. The adverb of time is characterised by (1) an underlying constant; (2) an associated meaning before, after or at the same time as the performative verb time reference. The study is written within the framework of the Generative Semantic School. The presupposition is made that auxiliaries are underlying main verbs. The adverb of time is regarded as being a higher predicate originating outside the verb phrase.