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Article published In: Linguistics in the Netherlands 2025
Edited by Kristel Doreleijers, Remco Knooihuizen and Eva van Lier
[Nota Bene 2:2] 2025
► pp. 324–339

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A Kleinian analysis of the posterior past in Dutch

 | Radboud University
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Radboud University Nijmegen.

Published online: 31 October 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/nb.00036.haa
Abstract
The study reported in this article investigates the phenomenon of the posterior past in Dutch, where the preterite refers to present or future eventualities, challenging traditional tense-aspect (TA) analysis. Building on the work of Haans, Harvey & Helen De Hoop. 2023. Past tense reference to future eventualities: A Reichenbachian approach. Linguistics in the Netherlands 401. 55–68. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, this study offers a reanalysis of this feature using . 1994. Time in language. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar and Bohnemeyer’s (Bohnemeyer, Jürgen. 1998. Time relations in discourse: Evidence from a comparative approach to Yukatek Maya. Ponsen & Looijen BV.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, . 2014. Aspect vs. relative tense: the case reopened. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 321. 917–954. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) TA framework, using data from the Spoken Dutch Corpus. Furthermore, parallels and distinctions in the cross-linguistic variation on the posterior past are highlighted. The findings show that the temporal reference of the posterior past is real, which reflects its definition by Reichenbach, Hans. 1947. Elements of symbolic logic. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar and becomes clear when analysed through the Kleinian framework. This research provides insights into the interaction between tense, aspect and modality, contributing to broader linguistic theory.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Tense and aspect
    • 2.2Ternary tense and aspect analysis
    • 2.3Topic time
    • 2.4Sequence of tense
    • 2.5Advantages of the Kleinian framework
  • 3.Analysis
    • 3.1The Dutch preterite
    • 3.2Temporal analysis of the posterior past
    • 3.3The posterior past and counterfactuality
    • 3.4The posterior past and politeness
    • 3.5The posterior past cross-linguistically
  • 4.Discussion
    • 4.1Summary of the analysis
    • 4.2Terminology of posterior pasts
    • 4.3Further research
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (25)
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