The aspectual make up of Perfect participles and the interpretations of the Perfect- Roumyana Pancheva
The aspectual makeup of Perfect participles and the. interpretations of the Perfect ... tual makeup of the participial VP – both in terms of the Aktionsart of the ...
The aspectual makeup of Perfect participles and the
interpretations of the Perfect*
Roumyana Pancheva
1. The types of perfect
Interpretation-wise, several types of perfect expressions have been recog-
nized in the literature (e.g., McCawley 1971, Comrie 1976, Binnick 1991,
Michaelis 1994, and others). To illustrate, a present perfect can have one of
at least three interpretations:
(1) a. Since 2000, Alexandra has lived in LA. UNIVERSAL
b. Alexandra has been in LA (before). EXPERIENTIAL
c. Alexandra has (just) arrived in LA. RESULTATIVE
The three types of perfect make different claims about the temporal loca-
tion of the underlying eventuality, i.e., of live in LA in (1a), be in LA in
(1b), arrive in LA in (1c), with respect to a reference time. The UNIVERSAL
perfect, as in (1a), asserts that the underlying eventuality holds throughout
an interval, delimited by the time of utterance and a certain time in the past
(in this case, the year 2000). The EXPERIENTIAL perfect, as in (1b), asserts
that the underlying eventuality holds at a proper subset of an interval, ex-
tending back from the utterance time. The RESULTATIVE perfect makes the
same assertion as the Experiential perfect, with the added meaning that the
result of the underlying eventuality (be in LA is the result of arrive in LA)
holds at the utterance time. The distinction between the Experiential and the
Resultative perfects is rather subtle. The two are commonly grouped to-
gether as the EXISTENTIAL perfect (McCawley 1971, Mittwoch 1988) and
this terminology is adopted here as well.1
Two related questions arise: (i) Is the distinction between the three types
of perfect grammatically based? (ii) If indeed so, then is it still possible to
posit a common representation for the perfect – a uniform structure with a
single meaning – which, in combination with certain other syntactic com-
ponents, each with a specialized meaning, results in the three different
readings? This paper suggests that the answer to both questions is yes.
To start addressing these questions, let us look at some of the known
factors behind the various interpretations of the perfect. It has to be noted
that the different perfect readings are not a peculiarity of the present perfect
despite the fact that they are primarily discussed in relation to that form.
The same interpretations are available to the past, future and nonfinite per-
278 Roumyana Pancheva
fects as well, modulo the fact that, in the calculation of meaning, the end
point of the reference interval is past, future, or unspecified, respectively,
relative to the utterance time (e.g., fall of 2002 in (2)).
(2) I met Alexandra in the fall of 2002.
a. Since 2000, she had lived in LA. U
b. She had been in LA before that as well. EXP
c. She had just arrived in LA. RES
(3) a. Next year, Alexandra will have lived in LA for 3 years. U
b. Alexandra will have been in LA by next year. EXP
c. Alexandra will have arrived in LA by Wednesday. RES
(4) a. Having lived in LA for ten years, Alexandra {is/was/will be}
ready to move. U
b. Alexandra wanted to have been in LA by 2004. EXP
c. Alexandra’s plan to have arrived in LA by July 4… RES
Tense, therefore, has no effect on the availability of the different perfect
readings. Aspect, on the other hand, does. It has been noted that the aspec-
tual makeup of the participial VP – both in terms of the Aktionsart of the
underlying eventuality and the grammatical aspect – is crucial in obtaining
the Universal perfect interpretation. Only stative verbs and the progressive
can form Universal perfects in English. In languages with perfec-
tive/imperfective distinction, the availability of the Universal reading de-
pends on the availability of non-perfective participles (Iatridou, Anag-
nostopoulou and Izvorski 2001). Greek, for instance, obligatorily marks
perfect participles as perfective, and as a result the Universal perfect is not
possible in this language. Bulgarian allows non-perfective (imperfective or
neutral) perfect participles for all Aktionsarten, and these are employed to
yield a Universal perfect reading, in a role similar to the progressive in
English. These facts have been previously noted and discussed by Iatridou,
Anagnostopoulou and Izvorski (2001: 206-210) and will not be illustrated
here.
The Resultative perfect too is aspectually restricted, although in this
case the restriction is partly definitional. For this reading to obtain, the re-
sult state of the underlying eventuality must hold at the reference time.
Some authors, e.g., Parsons (1990), Kamp and Ryle (1993), Giorgi and Pi-
anesi (1998), define a result state for any type of eventuality, atelic as well
as telic. Others, notably Kratzer (1994), posit that only telic events have a
natural result state (target state) associated with them. The telos is the
‘turning point’ at which telic eventualities transition into the result state.
With the reaching of the telos, an achievement such as lose my glasses
The aspectual makeup of the Perfect participle 279
causes a state of the glasses being lost, and an accomplishment such as
build a sandcastle quite clearly results in a state of the existence of a castle.
There is no analogous inherent result state for an activity such as run or
build sandcastles. An event of running may cause, e.g., a state of its agent’s
tiredness, but this is not a matter of the lexical meaning of run. Similarly,
an event of building sandcastles results in no inherent, lexically specified,
state. Based on this stricter definition of a result state, sentence such as the
ones in (5) do not have a Resultative perfect interpretation, only an Experi-
ential one, while the sentences in (6) may be Experiential or Resultative.
(5) a. I have run. EXP
b. I have built sandcastles. EXP
(6) a. I have lost my glasses. EXP or RES
b. I have built a sandcastle. EXP or RES
On the Resultative reading, (6a) requires that the glasses be lost at the ref-
erence time, here contemporaneous with the utterance time, while on the
Experiential reading there is no such requirement. Sentence (6b) is felici-
tous as an Experiential perfect regardless of whether the built sandcastle
still exists, but if it does not, the sentence cannot be a Resultative perfect.
Clearly, no such distinctions can be made in the case of (5).2 Thus, only
telic predicates yield the Resultative reading in English. The above discus-
sion illustrates the role of Aktionsart in deriving the different readings of
the Existential perfect. The role of grammatical aspect in this respect has
not been investigated cross-linguistically. There have been no studies, as
far as I know, of the effect of imperfective and perfective morphology on
the availability of the Experiential and Resultative perfects. The present
paper addresses this gap.
The role of aspect in determining the type of perfect in English can be
summarized as follows. The Universal and the Resultative interpretations
depend on the aspectual makeup of the participle, while the Experiential
one appears not to. States, and events in the progressive, can give rise to
either a Universal or an Experiential reading. Non-progressive activities
can only be Experiential. Non-progressive telic events can be either Resul-
tative or Experiential. In other words, any aspectual combination may yield
an Experiential reading, while the Universal and the Resultative readings
are derivable only by some, non-overlapping aspectual forms embedded in
the perfect.
There are other factors that contribute to the choice of one or another of
the perfect interpretations, besides aspect. Notably, different adverbials
trigger different perfect readings. As pointed out in Iatridou, Anag-
nostopoulou and Izvorski (2001: 196-199), the Universal reading is possi-
280 Roumyana Pancheva
ble only when the perfect is modified by an appropriate adverbial. Some
adverbials that require the Universal perfect interpretation are always, ever
since (2000), at least since 2000, for 10 days now; adverbials that allow it
are since 2000, for10 days3. Adverbials such as before, 5 times, lately are
modifiers of the Experiential perfect. The Resultative perfect interpretation
obtains in the case of just now. The role of adverbials in deriving the differ-
ent perfect interpretations is not the main focus of this study; it is men-
tioned here briefly, only insofar as the different adverbials will be used as a
diagnostic for the various readings throughout the paper.
2. Vagueness- vs. grammar-based accounts of the types of perfect
There have been different approaches to the source of the distinctions
within the perfect. The focus, however, has been on the Universal-
Existential distinction, specifically whether or not it is encoded in the lin-
guistic structure and is thus a true ambiguity, or is a matter of vagueness.
Relatively little is known about the distinction within the Existential per-
fect.
Previous approaches to the problem of the perfect types fall into several
categories:
I. The perfect is assigned a uniform meaning, and presumably struc-
ture; the different readings are a matter of vagueness, and contex-
tual information determines the ultimate interpretation (Bauer
1970, Inoue 1978, McCoard 1978, Heny 1982, Klein 1994).
II. The Universal-Existential distinction is grammatically encoded; no
explicit proposals are made about the distinctions within the Exis-
tential perfect (Dowty 1979, Richards 1982, Mittwoch 1988,
Abusch and Rooth 1990, Vlach 1993, Hitzeman 1998, von
Stechow 1999, Rathert 2000, Iatridou, Anagnostopoulou, and Iz-
vorski 2001, Musan 2001, 2002).
III. The Universal-Existential distinction is semantic, determined by
the Aktionsart of the underlying eventuality, but the distinctions
within the Existential perfect are not grammatical – they are deter-
mined on the basis of a pragmatic notion of current relevance
(Portner 1999).
IV. The Experiential and Resultative perfects are structurally distinct;
the Universal and the Resultative perfects are structurally identical
and differ only in the Aktionsart of the underlying eventuality;
there is no uniform overall representation for the perfect (Brugger
1997).
The aspectual makeup of the Perfect participle 281
V. The Resultative, Experiential and Universal perfects incorporate
three different aspectual operators; there is no uniform overall rep-
resentation for the perfect (von Stechow 1999, 2001).
As is evident from the above characterization, there appears to be no ac-
count that posits a uniform overall structure and meaning for the perfect
and yet allows for distinct additional grammatical components to be em-
bedded within that structure to derive the three distinct readings. The pre-
sent paper aims to accomplish just that. The proposal is presented in the
next section.
3. The perfect - structure and meaning
The position taken in this paper is that the different interpretations of the
perfect – the Universal, the Experiential, and the Resultative – are gram-
matically encoded, yet there is still a uniform overall representation for the
perfect. In other words, the three perfect types have distinct but partially
overlapping syntactic structures, composed of elements shared by all, and
also of elements that are specific to each type. The distinct structures may
or may not be spelled-out differently by the morphological component,
though the lack of overt realization is principled and constrained as well.
Evidence from Bulgarian and English is provided in support of the pro-
posal that the aspectual makeup of the perfect participle determines the
range of possible interpretations. Of particular concern here is the ambigu-
ity within the Existential perfect, namely the distinction between the Expe-
riential and Resultative perfects. The findings in Iatridou, Anagnostopoulou
and Izvorski (2001) concerning the role of grammatical aspect in the avail-
ability of the Universal perfect are assumed without further elaboration.
3.1. The perfect as a higher aspect
It is proposed that the perfect is structurally more complex than other
grammatical aspects such as the perfective or imperfective. The syntactic
differences, and the corresponding meaning differences, between these
grammatical aspects, are illustrated in (7) and (9). Formatives such as
[PAST], [BOUNDED] etc., are to be understood as the values of syntactic ob-
jects such as T(ense) and Asp(ect), with semantic import as defined, and
not as the overt past morphemes, perfective affixes, etc. The lowercase no-
tation - past, perfective, etc. - is used for the particular structure-meaning
combinations, e.g., T specified as [PAST], Asp specified as [BOUNDED], etc.
For the time being, we put aside the issue of the exact morphological spell-
out of these syntactic structures.4
282 Roumyana Pancheva
Viewpoint grammatical aspect, to use a common terminology (e.g., Smith
1991), is composed of an Asp head5 which embeds a vP with a particular
Aktionsart, and which can itself be directly embedded under T, as in (7a).
The interpretations of the tense and aspect specifications are as in (7b):
(7) a.
TP
T AspP
[PAST] /
[PRESENT] /
[FUTURE] Asp vP
[(UN) BOUNDED] / Aktionsart
[NEUTRAL]
b. i. Tenses:6
[[PAST ]] = λpλi ∃i' [ i' < i & p(i') ]
[[PRESENT ]]= λpλi ∃i' [i' = i & p(i') ]
[[ FUTURE ]]= λpλi ∃i' [ i' > i & p(i') ]
for any i ∈ I, the set of temporal intervals
ii. Grammatical viewpoint aspects:
[[UNBOUNDED ]]= λPλi ∃e [ i ⊆ τ(e) & P(e) ]
[[BOUNDED ]]= λPλi ∃e [ τ(e) ⊂ i & P(e) ]
[[NEUTRAL ]]= λPλi ∃e [ i ⊃τ(e) & P(e) ]
[
e is an eventuality,
τ(e) is the interval throughout which the eventuality holds,
P is a predicate of eventualities,
i ∈ I, the set of temporal intervals,
i ⊃ i' iff i ∩ i' ≠ Ø & ∃t [ t ∈ i & t ∉ i' & ∀t' [t' ∈ i' → t < t']]
[
The structure in (7a) reflects a fairly standard approach to the representa-
tion of temporality in natural language. The architecture of Tense selecting
Grammatical Aspect, which itself selects an Aktionsart appears in one form
or another in most syntax-semantics accounts.
Semantically, tenses are treated here as existential quantifiers over tem-
poral intervals, but nothing in the present discussion hinges on this issue.7
Tenses set up an evaluation interval relative to another evaluation interval,
or in the case of matrix clauses, to the utterance time. Following Reichen-
bachian terminology, the evaluation interval set up by tense is often called
the reference time. The past and the future tenses locate the reference time
before or after, respectively, the prior evaluation time (or the utterance time
in matrix clauses). The present tense is semantically vacuous.
Viewpoint aspects set up an interval – the interval at which the eventu-
ality holds, often called the event time – in relation to an evaluation inter-
The aspectual makeup of the Perfect participle 283
val. Composed with tense, the viewpoint aspects temporally situate the
event time relative to the reference time. This view of the role of tense and
aspect is consistent with proposals by von Stechow (1999, 2001) and
Reichenbachian accounts such as Klein (1994), a.o. The contribution of
imperfective (the semantics of [UNBOUNDED]) is to set up the event time as
a superset of the reference time. Perfective (with the meaning of
[BOUNDED]) has the opposite effect as it sets up the event time as a subset
of the reference time. The meanings of [BOUNDED] and [UNBOUNDED] pre-
sented above are fairly standard.8
The representations in (7b) differ from common aspectual characteriza-
tions in the introduction of a new type of viewpoint aspect, that of neutral.
Since this aspectual form will be relevant in deriving some of the ambigui-
ties in the perfect, I will discuss it here in some detail.
The term neutral is due to Smith (1991), who characterizes it as a
grammatical aspect that allows reference to the beginning point of an
eventuality and part of its internal temporal structure but not to the end
point. In Iatridou, Anagnostopoulou and Izvorski (2001) we proposed that
Bulgarian shows an overt three-way distinction in its aspectual system be-
tween neutral, imperfective, and perfective.9 The following sentences in (8)
illustrate that the three viewpoint aspects are morphologically distinct.10
(8) a. Az stroix pjasâc!na kula.
I build-NEUT.1SG.PAST sand castle
‘I was engaged in building a sandcastle.’
b. Az strojax pjasâc!na kula.
I build-IMPERF.1SG.PAST sand castle
‘I was building a sandcastle.’
c. Az postroix pjasâc!na kula.
I build-PERF.1SG.PAST sand castle
‘I built a sandcastle.’
Neutral has properties which are common with the perfective and others
with the imperfective. It makes reference only to the beginning and the in-
ternal temporal structure of an eventuality. Therefore, it does not assert
achievement of the goal with telic events, similarly to the imperfective:
(8a) and (8b), in contrast to (8c), do not assert that a sandcastle came to
exist. The neutral allows durative adverbials (e.g., (v prodâlz!enie na) dva
c!asa ‘for two hours’) and disallows completive adverbials (e.g., za dva
c!asa ‘in two hours’), again behaving like the imperfective and not like the
perfective. However, similarly to the perfective and unlike the imperfec-
tive, neutral sequences with perfective eventualities (e.g., when P(e)-
perf.past, P'(e)-neutral.past is interpreted such that τ(e) < τ(e')). Also, neu-
tral allows both durative and inclusive interpretation of time intervals (e.g.,
284 Roumyana Pancheva
between 10 and 11 am), a property it shares with the perfective and not
with the imperfective.
Let us turn now to the perfect. My analysis of the perfect diverges from
common syntax-semantics accounts of that temporal expression. Usually,
the perfect is said to be of the same syntactic and semantic category as
viewpoint aspect (e.g., Giorgi and Pianesi 1998, von Stechow 1999, 2001,
a.o.). Others treat the perfect as essentially an Aktionsart, a derived state
(Parsons 1990, Klein 1992, 1994, Musan 2001, 2002). The position taken
here, in line with that found in Iatridou, Anagnostopoulou and Izvorski
(2001), is that the perfect is syntactically a higher aspect than the viewpoint
aspects, and that semantically, it relates two evaluation intervals, rather
than an evaluation interval and the time of an event – more like an embed-
ded tense than like a viewpoint aspect. Concretely, the perfect embeds an
AspP such as the one in (7a), specified for viewpoint aspect. Perfect parti-
ciples thus consist of (at least two) different AspPs organized hierarchi-
cally. The following is a representation of the syntactic components, which
enter into the composition of the perfect, and of their associated meanings.
Respecting compositionality, the meanings of the possible tenses in T and
viewpoint aspects in Asp2 are the same as previously defined in (7b).
(9) a.
TP
T AspP1
[PAST] /
[PRESENT] /
[FUTURE] Asp1 AspP2
[PERFECT]
Asp2 vP
[(UN) BOUNDED] / Aktionsart
[NEUTRAL]
b. The Perfect:
[[PERFECT]] = λpλi ∃i' [ PTS(i', i) & p(i') ]
PTS(i', i) iff i is a final subinterval of i'
The Asp1 head contains identical feature specifications for the three types of
perfect – Universal , Resultative, and Experiential. Further merging AspP1
with T brings about the temporal location of the reference time (the final
subinterval of the interval introduced by the perfect) and derives a present,
past, etc. perfect. In other words, the perfect has a common syntax – an
Asp1 head embedding an AspP2 projection whose head is specified for
viewpoint aspect. Associated with the common syntax is a common mean-
The aspectual makeup of the Perfect participle 285
ing for the perfect - a combination of the meaning of [PERFECT] in Asp1 and
the meaning contribution of a viewpoint aspectual projection.
The semantic role of the perfect is to introduce an interval, the Perfect Time
Span (PTS)11 and temporally relate it to the reference time such that the
reference time is its final subinterval. This is a particular instantiation of the
Extended Now theory of the perfect (McCoard 1978, Dowty 1979, a.o.).
The Perfect Time Span is a term introduced in Iatridou, Anagnostopoulou
and Izvorski (2001) for the concept of an Extended Now; it has the advan-
tage of generalizing over intervals extending back in time from any refer-
ence time, not just a Now. The right boundary of the PTS coincides with
the right boundary of the reference interval, and thus gets located by tense.
The left boundary of the PTS is determined by various perfect-level adver-
bials, e.g. at least since 2000 sets the left boundary as the year 2000; for 6
years sets it 6 years back from the right boundary, etc. In the absence of
perfect-level adverbials, the left boundary, and thus the duration of the
PTS, is left unspecified.
According to the present proposal, the viewpoint aspects – perfective,
imperfective, and the added neutral - relate the event time to the reference
time, whereas the perfect relates an interval of evaluation (the PTS), a ref-
erence time of sorts, to the reference time introduced by the tenses. In
summary, the relations between intervals are as follows:12
(10) Tense: a reference time to the speech time
Perfect: a reference time to a reference time
Viewpoint aspect: the event time to a reference time
3.2. The role of viewpoint aspect
It is further proposed that the distinctions between Universal, Experiential,
and Existential readings have a grammatical basis, localizable to the par-
ticular featural specification of Asp2. If Asp2 is [UNBOUNDED], the Univer-
sal reading straightforwardly obtains. The viewpoint aspect first combines
with the vP, which contributes a predicate over eventualities.
(11) a. [AspP1 PERFECT [AspP2 UNBOUNDED [vP vP ]]]
b. λpλi ∃i' [ PTS(i', i) & p(i') ] (λPλi ∃e [ i ⊆ τ(e) & P(e) ]
(λe' P(e'))) =
λi ∃i' [ PTS(i', i) & ∃e [ i' ⊆ τ(e) & P(e) ]]
As the formula in (11b) indicates, the PTS is asserted to be a subset of the
event time, i.e. the underlying eventuality holds throughout the PTS, which
is the Universal perfect interpretation.
286 Roumyana Pancheva
When Asp2 has the value of [NEUTRAL], the Experiential interpretation ob-
tains:
(12) a. [AspP1 PERFECT [AspP2 NEUTRAL [vP vP ]]]
b. λpλi ∃i' [ PTS(i', i) & p(i') ] (λPλi ∃e [ i ⊃ & P(e) ] (λe' P(e')))
[τ(e)
= λi ∃i' [ PTS(i', i) & ∃e [i' ⊃ & P(e) ]]
[τ(e)
As clear from (12b), embedding neutral viewpoint aspect under the perfect
has the effect of asserting that the beginning of the event time is included in
the PTS. The question of whether the end of the event time is included in
the PTS or not is left open. Clearly, this is not the Universal reading. As
discussed by Iatridou, Anagnostopoulou and Izvorski (2001), the Universal
reading asserts that both the endpoints of the PTS are included in the event
time. Yet in (12b), the left boundary of the PTS is asserted to precede the
beginning of the event time and the right boundary of the PTS is not as-
serted to be included in the event time. Examples such as the ones in (13)
illustrate the structure and meaning of (12):
(13) a. I have been sick lately.
b. I have been working very hard these days.
c. I have been losing my glasses recently.
These sentences clearly have continuous readings. Moreover, they are con-
sistent with a situation such that the underlying eventuality holds at the ut-
terance time and beyond, but this is not part of the assertion. Thus, these
are Experiential and not Universal perfects.
Finally, in English [NEUTRAL] may be possible outside of the perfect as
well, as in (14), where the most natural interpretation is one of an incom-
plete reading of the Bible.
(14) We read the Bible this morning.
Let us consider now the third aspectual combination – the perfect com-
bining with an Asp2P whose head has the value of [BOUNDED].
(15) a. [AspP1 PERFECT [AspP2 BOUNDED [vP vP ]]]
b. λpλi ∃i' [ PTS(i', i) & p(i') ] ( λPλi ∃e [ τ(e) ⊂ i & P(e) ]
( λe' P(e')) ) =
λi ∃i' [ PTS(i', i) & ∃e [ τ(e) ⊂ i' & P(e) ]]
The interpretation in (15b) is again the Experiential one. It is just a stronger
version of (13b). (15b) asserts that the entire event time is included in the
PTS, whereas (13b) asserts merely an overlap. With respect to atelic predi-
The aspectual makeup of the Perfect participle 287
cates, this outcome is welcome. Consider the sentences in (16) in compari-
son to those in (13).
(16) a. I have been sick previously.
b. I have worked very hard before.
Whereas (13a,b) are compatible with the utterance time being included in
the event time, (16a,b) are not, exactly as predicted by the two representa-
tions of the Experiential perfect in (12) and (15). The grammatical aspect
that enters into the composition of the perfect participle is distinct in the
two cases - neutral and perfective, respectively, but its morphological reali-
zation is the same on stative predicates. Statives do not appear in the pro-
gressive. Imperfective and neutral activities, on the other hand, have to be
realized as progressive; when embedded under perfective, activities surface
as non-progressive.
When the eventuality in a structure such as (15a) is telic, an Experiential
reading obtains, which is appropriately captured by (15b). The sentences in
(6) illustrate such a reading, e.g., in the case of (6a) the PTS includes the
time of the event of me losing my glasses. This event cannot hold at utter-
ance time, something which (15b) captures. Neither is it necessary for the
result state of the event, the glasses being lost, to hold at utterance time,
and (15b) accurately represents that.
The remaining problem is that the Resultative reading has not been
captured so far. (15b) comes close, given that it represents the underlying
eventuality as completed. In the case of telic predicates this would mean
assertion of the achievement of the goal. However, a crucial element of the
desired meaning is missing - the fact that the state resulting from the cul-
mination of the telic event obtains at the reference time. As discussed ear-
lier, a Resultative reading for (6a) requires that the glasses be still lost, and
in the case of (6b), that the built castle is still standing, at the time of utter-
ance.
A solution can be found if we define a new viewpoint aspectual form - re-
sultative - selecting telic predicates, and itself selected by the perfect, with
the meaning in (17):
(17) [[RESULTATIVE ]] = λPλi ∃e∃s [i ⊃ τ(s) & P(s,e)]
⊂
i ⊃ i' iff i ∩ i' ≠ Ø & ∃t∃t'[ t ∈ i & t ∉ i' & t' ∈ i' & t' ∉ i & t < t']
⊂
It is assumed that telic vPs are predicates of events and their result states,
e.g. lose my glasses has the meaning of λsλe[e cause s & my-glasses-are-
lost (s)].
The idea of a resultative aspect is found in Kratzer (1998), von Stechow
(1999, 2001). However, the particular meaning defined above is specific to
288 Roumyana Pancheva
this proposal. In both Kratzer’s and von Stechow’s proposals, resultative is
representative of the same category as the perfect, i.e., the two cannot co-
occur. Here, resultative is treated as a viewpoint aspect, as a value of Asp2
on a par with perfective, imperfective and neutral.
In (17), the meaning of resultative is defined in such a way that it can
only combine with telic Aktionsarten. Unlike [BOUNDED], this viewpoint
aspect not only asserts that the telic event (e.g. lose my glasses) culminates,
but also, crucially, that the result state after culmination of the event (my
glasses be lost) holds at a time that includes the endpoint of the reference
time. When embedded in the perfect, [RESULTATIVE] viewpoint aspect has
exactly the desired effect. (18b) represents the Resultative perfect reading,
namely, that the result state of the culminated telic event holds at reference
time.
(18) a. [AspP1 PERFECT [AspP2 RESULTATIVE [vP vP ]]]
b. λpλi ∃i' [ PTS(i', i) & p(i') ]
(λPλi ∃e∃s [i ⊃ τ(s) & P(s,e) ] (λsλe' P(s,e')) ) =
⊂
λi ∃i' [ PTS(i', i) & ∃e∃s [i' ⊃ τ(s) & P(s,e) ]
⊂
Resultative is different from the other three viewpoint aspects in that it
necessarily selects a telic Aktionsart. It remains to be seen whether this
viewpoint aspect is independently instantiated in English and can combine
with tense directly (similarly to neutral in Bulgarian) or whether it always
needs to be selected by a perfect.13 Resultative aspect in Bulgarian, where it
is attested independently of the perfect, is discussed in section 4, in con-
nection with example (22) and (23).
3.3. Some cross-linguistic considerations
Now that we have identified the semantic components that enter into the
composition of the three readings of the perfect, we are in a position to ac-
count for some of the cross-linguistic differences in the availability of the
perfect readings. Greek does not have a Universal perfect. This fact can be
captured by positing a syntactic restriction on the selectional properties of
the perfect in Greek, such that it cannot embed an Asp2 whose value is
[UNBOUNDED]. Otherwise, Greek has the semantic operator [UNBOUNDED]
and it can combine directly with tense. Exactly the opposite happens in
Portuguese. It has been claimed that this language does not allow a Resul-
tative and an Experiential reading of the perfect (Brugger 1998). This fol-
lows, if in this language the perfect necessarily selects an Asp2 with the
feature specification [UNBOUNDED].
The aspectual makeup of the Perfect participle 289
Thus we see that languages may pose syntactic restrictions on the combi-
natorial properties of aspects. The hierarchical organization in the perfect
and meanings for the various aspects, as proposed here, allows for a
straightforward account of the cross-linguistic availability of the various
perfect interpretations.
4. On the morphology of perfect participles
The proposal developed in section 3 discussed the syntax of the perfect and
the meaning contribution of the viewpoint aspects embedded in the perfect.
The question of the exact morphological realization of the perfect participle
was postponed. Here, I address the various ways the participle is spelled-
out, for each perfect type, depending on the viewpoint aspect and the par-
ticular Aktionsart embedded under the perfect. The discussion is not meant
to be an exhaustive treatment of the morphology of the perfect participle.
Rather, my goal here is to illustrate that there is no one-to-one correspon-
dence between the meaning of the formatives manipulated by syntax and
their morphological realization. This is consistent with recent ideas about
the semantics and morphology of aspect developed in von Stechow (2001).
I assume that either verb-movement in syntax or merger operations in
the morphological component are responsible for the creation of a complex
verbal head as in (19). Depending on the Aktionsart (the V-v complex), and
the feature content of Asp2, the perfect participle may have different overt
instantiations.
(19)
Asp1
Asp2 Asp1
v Asp2 [PERFECT]
V v
Let us consider English first. An [UNBOUNDED] value for Asp2 results in a
Universal reading, as discussed earlier. If the underlying eventuality is a
state, the participle is spelled-out as non-progressive, otherwise it has to be
realized as progressive. The same split according to Aktionsart shows up in
the Experiential perfect when the viewpoint aspect is [NEUTRAL] – an un-
derlying state is spelled-out as non-progressive, any other Aktionsart has to
form a progressive participle. When the viewpoint aspect is [BOUNDED],
independently of the type of Aktionsart, the participle is non-progressive.
Finally, the Resultative perfect is the outcome of [RESULTATIVE] embed-
290 Roumyana Pancheva
ding a telic event, and the spell-out morphology is non-progressive. The
above facts are summarized in (20).
(20) English
Perfect Type Viewpoint Aspect Aktionsart
Semantics Morphology
Universal [UNBOUNDED] non-progressive state
progressive activity, telic
Experiential [NEUTRAL] non-progressive state
progressive activity, telic
[BOUNDED] non-progressive any
Resultative [RESULTATIVE] non-progressive telic
In Bulgarian, three feature specifications of Asp2 yield the three perfect
readings. Both [UNBOUNDED] and [NEUTRAL] are realized by the neutral
morphology, or when neutral is not available for a particular predicate, by
imperfective morphology.14 Finally, [RESULTATIVE] is spelled-out as per-
fective.
(21) Bulgarian
Perfect Type Viewpoint Aspect Aktionsart
Semantics Morphology
Universal [UNBOUNDED] neutral/ imperfective any
Experiential [NEUTRAL] neutral/ imperfective any
Resultative [RESULTATIVE] perfective telic
The question arises of whether [BOUNDED] is a viewpoint aspectual value
that is used in Bulgarian. It appears to be the case that it is not. Evidence
for this comes from the fact that perfective morphology in Bulgarian is al-
ways associated with telicity, even for atelic underlying predicates.15 Thus
the state ‘love’ in (22a), with a perfective inflection, comes to be an in-
choative ‘fall in love’, e.g., an achievement. The activity ‘scream’ in (23a),
when inflected with perfective morphology, is interpreted as inchoative as
well, i.e., ‘start to scream’.16 These are not the readings that should obtain
from a [BOUNDED] + state, and [BOUNDED] + activity combinations. Such
The aspectual makeup of the Perfect participle 291
readings do not obtain when the atelic eventualities appear with non-
perfective morphology, as (22b) and (23b,c) illustrate.
(22) a. Ivan obikna Maria.
Ivan love-PERF.PAST Maria
‘Ivan fell in love with Maria.’
b. Ivan obic!as!e Maria.
Ivan love-IMPERF.PAST Maria
‘Ivan loved Maria.’
(23) a. Ivan pisna (*dva c!asa).
Ivan scream-PERF.PAST two hours
‘Ivan started screaming (*for two hours).’
b. Ivan pis!tja (dva c!asa).
Ivan scream-NEUT.PAST two hours
‘Ivan screamed (for two hours).’
c. Ivan pis!tes!e.
Ivan scream-IMPERF.PAST
‘Ivan was screaming.’
In other words, it is not [BOUNDED] that is spelled-out as perfective outside
of the perfect. Rather, the readings in (22a) and (23a) are derivable by
[RESULTATIVE] in combination with a telic eventuality.
5. Grammatical distinctions in the Existential perfect
This section presents some additional arguments for positing distinct
structures for the perfect types. Much has been said about the Universal-
Existential distinction previously, thus the arguments for its grammatical
basis will not be reviewed here (see the references above in section 2, point
ii). I focus here on the distinction within the Existential perfect, namely the
Experiential – Resultative ambiguity. Several arguments will be presented
in support of the theory of the perfect and its ambiguities outlined above.
5.1. Brugger (1998) on the perfect types
Brugger (1998) is the first to argue for a formal distinction between the two
types of Existential perfect. His arguments are based on the temporal inter-
pretation of clauses embedded under the different types of present perfect.
In such cases, the Experiential perfect behaves like a past tense, while the
292 Roumyana Pancheva
Resultative and the Universal perfect behave like a present tense. Consider
the sentences below:
(24) a. John convinced his coach that he was too weak to play.
(simultaneous, shifted)
b. John is convincing his coach that he was too weak to play.
(shifted)
The matrix past tense in (24a) can trigger sequence of tense, licensing a
purely morphological past tense in the embedded clause, as a result of
which the embedded state can be interpreted as temporally simultaneous
with the matrix event (in shorthand, convince (t1) & be weak (t2) & t1 ⊂
t2). The sentence also has another, shifted reading, in which the past in the
embedded clause is semantically contentful, hence the embedded state is
interpreted as temporally preceding the matrix event (convince (t1) & be
weak (t2) & t2 < t1). Sentence (24b) only has the shifted reading, since its
present tense in the matrix cannot trigger the sequence-of-tense rule.
When we replace the matrix predicate by a present perfect of each type,
the following interpretations obtain:
(25) a. John has convinced his coach that he was too weak to play.
(shifted)
b. Since Friday John has been convincing his coach…
(shifted)
c. John has convinced his coach once before…
(simultaneous, shifted)
The Resultative and the Universal perfect allow only the shifted reading for
the embedded state (see (25a,b)). In this respect they behave like the pre-
sent tense in (24b). The Experiential perfect allows, in addition to the
shifted reading, the simultaneous reading as well (see (25c)). In other
words, like the past tense in (24a), it can license a semantically vacuous
past in the embedded clause.
To account for the observed behavior of the perfect types, Brugger pro-
poses an analysis that differentiates structurally between them. On his ac-
count, the Experiential perfect incorporates an embedded Past, while the
Universal and the Resultative perfects do not. The distinction between the
Resultative and Universal perfects, on the other hand, is lexical-aspectual17,
simply a matter of the Aktionsart of the underlying eventuality.
Brugger proposes that the perfect participle is a T/Asp projection; as the
name indicates, it can have either tense features or aspect features. The
T/Asp head selects the VP, and is itself embedded within TP, where the
auxiliary is introduced. In the case of the present perfect, the value of T is
The aspectual makeup of the Perfect participle 293
[–past]. The [+past] feature that licenses the sequence-of-tense effects in
the case of the Experiential perfect (illustrated in (25c)) is introduced lower
than T, in the T/Asp head. The representation in (26a) is the LF for the Ex-
periential perfect proposed by Brugger. The Resultative and the Universal
perfects, on the other hand, have the LF in (26b). Instead of the temporal
[+past] feature in T/Asp, these perfect types have an aspectual feature,
called TERM (for terminal). TERM is presented as a viewpoint aspect (in
the terminology of Smith 1991). It is said to “view” the terminal part of
eventualities, defined as the result state for telic events and the final part of
atelic eventualities.
(26) a. [TP [–Past]T [T/AspP [+Past]T/Asp [VP VP ]]] EXP
b. [TP [–Past]T [T/AspP [TERM]T/Asp [VP VP ]]] U, RES
According to Brugger, the different perfect interpretations and temporal
effects are derived in the following way. In the case of the Experiential per-
fect, the participle (T/Asp) has no aspectual value, thus allowing for a vari-
ety of aspectual interpretations. The [+past] value in T/Asp shifts the event
time in the past relative to the speech time. In the case of the Universal and
Resultative perfects, as no past value is expressed in the T/Asp, the view-
point (reference time) of the participle and the speech time are interpreted
as co-temporal. For telic events this means that the result state holds at the
speech time, and for atelic eventualities – that the final part is co-temporal
with the speech time (but without implying the eventuality’s termination).
The arguments provided by Brugger for a grammatical distinction be-
tween the Experiential and Resultative perfects are important. The particu-
lars of Brugger’s proposal are not adopted here, however. Of special rele-
vance in this respect are the following two shortcomings of his account.
The first has to do with the fact that no uniform structure and meaning is
attributed to the perfect, as the LFs in (26) clearly illustrate. The second is
related to the common representation for the Universal and Resultative per-
fects (cf. 26b).
The lack of a uniform representation for the perfect is problematic, be-
cause the fact that many languages use partially the same morpho-syntactic
means to express the three readings of the perfect (e.g., auxiliary plus past
participle in Germanic and Romance, auxiliary plus a specialized18 perfect
participle in Slavic and Greek) remains unaccounted for. But perhaps more
importantly, the uniform representation for the Universal and Resultative
perfects, with the difference stemming solely from the Aktionsart of the
VP, runs into a number of problems of its own. First, it remains unclear
under such an account why some languages do not have a Universal perfect
at all but do have a Resultative one, e.g., Greek, and perhaps German as
well. As Iatridou, Anagnostopoulou and Izvorski (2001) point out, the fol-
294 Roumyana Pancheva
lowing sentence in Greek, with a stative vP, does not have a Universal
reading, only an Existential one. Adding adverbials that trigger the Univer-
sal interpretation, such as always, at least since 199019 would only make
the sentence ungrammatical.
(27) O Yannis eχi aγapisi tin Maria.
the Jannis have-3sg loved theMaria
‘Jannis has fallen in love with Maria.’
Brugger’s account would predict that the aspectual value TERM would
“view” the final part of the state and yield a Universal reading, contrary to
fact. Second, activities embedded in the perfect are expected to trigger the
Universal reading under Brugger’s account, but they do not (unless embed-
ded under the progressive first), as seen earlier in (5). Third, the possibility
of embedding a progressive under the perfect, and the fact that in such a
case even telic Aktionsarten result in a Universal reading cannot be cap-
tured by a structure such as (26b).
(28) I have been losing my glasses ever since I bought new frames.
Related to the last point is the observation that telic predicates in the Portu-
guese present perfect necessarily get an iterative reading (Giorgi and Pi-
anesi 1998, Schmitt 2001):
(29) O Joa"o tem saído tarde.
the J. has left late
‘Joao has been leaving late’; not ‘Joao has left late.’
The perfect in (29) has a Universal interpretation only, similarly to the
English progressive perfect in (28).
In sum, Brugger’s conclusions that the interpretive distinctions in the per-
fect have a grammatical basis are accepted here, without adopting his over-
all view of the syntax and semantics of the perfect.
5.2. Further arguments from English for a grammatical distinction
Another argument comes from the observation that there are distinctions of
grammatical aspect as well, between the Experiential and the Resultative
perfects. The Resultative perfect does not allow the progressive in English,
whereas both the Universal and the Experiential do.20
The aspectual makeup of the Perfect participle 295
(30) a. I have been drinking coffee at least since 3 o’clock. U
b. I have been drinking coffee on many occasions before. EXP
c. *I have been drinking this cup of coffee right now. RES
As far as sequence-of-tense effects are concerned, the Universal and the
Resultative perfect pattern together, in contrast to the Experiential perfect.
Grammatical aspect, on the other hand, partitions the perfect types in a dif-
ferent way: the Universal and the Experiential pattern together, to the ex-
clusion of the Resultative perfect. Both partitions contrast the Experiential
and the Resultative types, supporting a grammatical distinction within the
Existential perfect. Taken together, the temporal and aspectual effects ar-
gue for a three-way grammatical distinction in the perfect.
In addition to the different temporal and aspectual effects on the part of
the three perfect types, there is other evidence suggesting that the distinc-
tions within the perfect are grammatical. In particular, parallelism tests re-
veal that the Experiential and Resultative interpretations are not a matter of
vagueness of an otherwise unambiguous perfect. If that were so, in a sen-
tence such as (31a), the two conjuncts could receive distinct interpretations,
one of them Experiential and the other Resultative. Instead, either both
conjuncts have to be Experiential, or they both have to be Resultative. This
is illustrated by the unacceptability of the sentences in (31b), where adver-
bial modification forces the two conjuncts to be distinct.21
(31) a. John has lost his glasses and Mary has too.
b. *John has just now lost his glasses and Mary has too, several
times before.
Thus we see that English offers several reasons to posit a grammatical dis-
tinction within the Existential perfect – effect on the temporal interpretation
of clauses embedded under the perfect, the availability of embedding
grammatical aspect such as the progressive, and matching interpretation in
conjunction.
5.3. Grammatical distinctions in the Existential perfect in Bulgarian
Facts from Bulgarian provide additional support that the Experiential and
the Resultative interpretations have a grammatical basis. Viewpoint aspect
in the perfect participle has clear effect on the resulting perfect reading.
The participle in the Resultative perfect has to be perfective, while the one
in the Experiential perfect has to be imperfective or neutral.
296 Roumyana Pancheva
The perfect in Bulgarian is analytic, formed with a be-auxiliary and a spe-
cialized participle (the ‘l’-participle), which is distinct from the passive
participle.
(32) a. Ivan e postroil pjasâc!nata kula.
Ivan be-3SG.PRES build-M.SG.ACTIVE sand-the castle
‘Ivan has built the sandcastle.’
b. Pjasâc!nata kula e postroena ot I.
sand-the castle be-3SG.PRES build-F.SG.PASS by I.
‘The sandcastle is built by Ivan.’
The perfect participle can express grammatical aspect, unlike, e.g., Greek,
where the perfect participle can only be perfective.
(33) a. Ivan e stroil pjasâc!na kula.
Ivan be-3SG.PRES build-NEUT.M.SG sand castle
‘Ivan has been building a sandcastle.’
b. Ivan e strojal pjasâc!na kula.
Ivan be-3SG.PRES build-IMPERF.M.SG sand castle
‘Ivan has been building a sandcastle.’
c. Ivan e postroil pjasâc!na kula.
Ivan be-3SG.PRES build-PERF.M.SG sand castle
‘Ivan has built a sandcastle.’
As proposed in section 3, viewpoint aspect has a direct effect on the inter-
pretation of the perfect. Bulgarian provides direct evidence for this. In par-
ticular, as noted in section 4, the morphological aspect realized on the per-
fect participle varies with the possible readings of the perfect. The follow-
ing examples illustrate the facts that are the basis for the generalization in
(21). When the participle is neutral, adverbs triggering the Universal read-
ing, such as ‘all morning’, are possible (cf. (34a)). Adverbs that are com-
patible with the Experiential reading only, such as ‘many times’ and ‘be-
fore’, are possible as well (see (34b) and (34c)). Yet adverbs such as ‘now’,
which are compatible only with the Resultative reading, are not possible
(see (34d)). Given that a resultative reading does not obtain when the parti-
ciple is marked neutral, (34e) is not felicitous (the culmination of the un-
derlying telic even is not asserted, thus the existence of a sandcastle is not
asserted).
(34) a. Ivan cjala sutrin e stroil pjasâc!na kula.
Ivan all morning is build-NEUT sand castle
‘Ivan has been building a sandcastle all morning.’
