Acknowledgements V Table of contents VII Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Chapter 2. Towards a theory of tense and time 91 Chapter 3. The absolute use of the present tense 171 Chapter 4. The absolute past tense 193 Chapter 5. The absolute use of the present perfect 209 Chapter 6. The present perfect vs the preterite in clauses without temporal adverbials 315 Chapter 7. Absolute tense forms referring to the post-present 335 Chapter 8. Temporal domains and relative tenses: theoretical foundations 361 Chapter 9. Temporal subordination in the various time-zones 441 Chapter 10. Two tense systems with post-present reference 529 Chapter 11. Tense choice determined by temporal focus 571 Chapter 12. Preterite vs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials 589 Chapter 13. Adverbial when-clauses and the use of tenses 635 Chapter 14. Adverbial before-clauses and after-clauses 685 Glossary 759 References 831 Inde...