Tham khảo tài liệu 'the grammar of the english verb phrase part 54', ngoại ngữ, ngữ pháp tiếng anh phục vụ nhu cầu học tập, nghiên cứu và làm việc hiệu quả | 364 8. Temporal domains and relative tenses theoretical foundations I. Introduction In chapter 2 and elsewhere a number of concepts and definitions have been introduced. Since these are essential to a good understanding of what follows we will start by summarizing them and in some cases elaborating on them . Full situation vs predicated situation We have defined the full situation as the complete situation as it actualized in the past has actualized or has been actualizing in the pre-present is actualizing at t0 or is expected to actualize in the post-present. The predicated situation is that part of the full situation possibly all of it about which a claim is made in the clause. As is clear from Ten minutes ago John was in the library which does not exclude the possibility that John is still there it is the predicated situation rather than the full situation that is located in time by the use of the tense form see . In connection with the continuative W-interpretation see of the present perfect we have distinguished further between the factual full situation and the potential full situation see . The factual full situation is that part of the full situation possibly all of it that leads up to and includes t0. The potential full situation is the full situation including that part if any that follows t0. Thus in John has been sleeping for seven hours now the factual full situation covers a seven-hour period reaching up to and including Since John may keep on sleeping after t0 there is also an idea of a potential full situation whose length is unpredictable at t0. However the potential part of a full situation referred to by a continuative present perfect see is not linguistically referred to it can only be inferred. Thus the above sentence John has been sleeping for seven hours now only asserts the factual part of the full situation and the duration adverbial indicates the length of this factual part only. That John will .
