ABSTRACT

In Persian, two of the verbal constructions used for expressing futurity – the Past Simple and the Future Simple – are built around the past form of the main verb. This paper seeks to demystify this connection between the past and the future by investigating how these past forms contribute to the expression of futurity and setting this within an overall analysis of the future constructions in this language. Based on the form of the main verb in 940 sentences with verbal future constructions, six constructions were identified and categorized into future-oriented past constructions (FPST), which include the Past Simple and the Future Simple, and future-oriented present constructions (FPRT), which include the Present Simple, the Present Progressive, the Present Subjunctive and the WANT construction. A construction grammar approach together with Reichenbach and neo-Reichenbach terminology was then utilized to distinguish the differing relations between tense, aspect, mood and speaker perspective, and assign syntactic-semantic maps in terms of features such as level of formality, perfectness, intended future, certainty and inner aspect (aktionsart) to each of the FPST and FPRT constructions. It is argued that the use of the past form of the main verb in the Past Simple and the Future Simple (FPST constructions) owes much to aspectual and ontological factors, with the past element indicating certainty, perfectness and a speaker perspective of looking back.

摘要

在波斯语中，用于表达未来的两个动词结构——过去简单和未来简单——是围绕主要动词的过去形式构建的。本文试图通过调查这些过去的形式如何有助于未来的表达，并将其置于对这种语言的未来结构的整体分析中，来揭开过去与未来之间的联系的神秘面纱。根据940个带有动词将来构式的句子中主要动词的形式，识别出六个构式并将其分类为面向未来的过去时构式（FPST），包括过去简单和未来简单，以及面向未来的现在时构式（FPRT）。 )，其中包括现在简单、现在进行、现在虚拟语气和 WANT 结构。然后使用构造语法方法与 Reichenbach 和新 Reichenbach 术语来区分时态、方面、情绪和说话者视角之间的不同关系，并根据正式程度、完美程度、预期未来等特征分配句法语义图，确定性和内在方面（aktionsart）到每个 FPST 和 FPRT 结构。有人认为，在过去简单和将来简单（FPST 结构）中使用主要动词的过去形式很大程度上归功于体位和本体因素，过去的元素表明确定性、完美性和说话者回顾过去的观点。并根据正式程度、完美性、预期未来、确定性和内在方面（aktionsart）等特征为每个 FPST 和 FPRT 结构分配句法语义映射。有人认为，在过去简单和将来简单（FPST 结构）中使用主要动词的过去形式很大程度上归功于体位和本体因素，过去的元素表明确定性、完美性和说话者回顾过去的观点。并根据正式程度、完美性、预期未来、确定性和内在方面（aktionsart）等特征为每个 FPST 和 FPRT 结构分配句法语义映射。有人认为，在过去简单和将来简单（FPST 结构）中使用主要动词的过去形式很大程度上归功于体位和本体因素，过去的元素表明确定性、完美性和说话者回顾过去的观点。