We go on to explain our view of what sorts of things can be denoted or referred to by a verb, a verb phrase, a clause or an utterance. Finally we explain the concepts associated with what is traditionally considered to be lexical aspect (for example the contrast between a 'state verb' and a 'dynamic verb') | 728 14. Adverbial before-clauses and after-clauses before-clause. The function of the measure phrase is then to specify the distance between the contained orientation time of the head clause and the W-posterior Anchor time Two days before he died John had already seen a doctor. There are two anteriority relations involved here John s seeing a doctor was anterior to a time anterior to his death . The first anteriority relation is expressed by had seen the second by before. This complex temporal structure can be made explicit by the use of adverbials measuring the length of the time spans corresponding with the two anteriority relations. Consider Two days before he died Bill had already seen a doctor a week earlier. As is clear from this paraphrase the situation time of the head clause is T-anterior to the contained orientation time it lies a week before the latter. The contained orientation time itself lies two days before the Anchor time which is the time of Bill s death. This means that the before-clause is used as an orientation-time adverbial it does not contain the situation time of the head clause but another orientation time to which the situation time of the head clause is T-anterior. Further examples Long before he had gone to a psychiatrist Bill had already attempted to commit suicide twice. Long before he had gone to see a psychiatrist Bill was already going to commit suicide. Long before she was going to have her baby Mary had already decided to put it up for adoption. on the interpretation Long before she was in labour . The following are similar examples but with reference to the post-present Two years before he is sixty-five Bill will already have been retired for exactly three months. Two years before he is sixty-five Bill will already be going to retire. In these examples the head clause situation is T-anterior to an implicit orientation time contained in the Adv-time specified by the before-clause. That contained orientation time is said to lie two
