The French Imparfait and Passé Simple in Discourse (SIL International and the University of Texas at Arlington Publications in Linguistics, vol.116)

In this book, The French Imparfait and Passé Simple in Discourse, the author presents the results of her analysis of the use of the two tenses, imparfait and passé simple, in French narrative discourse. One conclusion she reaches is that these two tenses can be defined as `state' and `event', respectively, and that, with such definitions, different temporal and aspectual values that have traditionally been associated with these two tenses can be united.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations
Acknowledgments

The Imparfait and the Passé Simple: Different Approaches

1.1-1.6 Grammatical approaches
1.1 Grammaire Larousse
1.2 Grévisse
1.3 Imbs
1.4 Abrate
1.5 Cox
1.6 Comrie

1.7-1.8 Discourse approaches
1.7 Strong focus versus weak focus
1.8 Foregrounding versus backgrounding

Boundedness and Nonboundedness

2.1 A core semantic value for the imparfait
2.2 Boundedness and nonboundedness as core traits
2.3 Boundedness and Grobe s restricted/nonrestricted opposition
2.4 A definition of boundedness
2.5 Boundedness and Abrate s emphasis model
2.6 Boundedness and discourse approaches

Event and State Concepts

3.1 Definitions
3.2 Points of reference: Objective and subjective

3.3-3.5 Levels of abstraction
3.3 Level one: Phenomena
3.4 Level two: Perception
3.5 Level three: Communication
3.6 Event and state as metaphor

Event and State in Relation to Verb Types?

4.1 Vendler s four verb types
4.2 Kenny s three verb types
4.3 Garey: Telic versus atelic verb types
4.4 Comrie s situation types
4.5 Mourelatos situation categories
4.6 Mourelatos aspectual distinctions applied to French

Event and State in Different Uses of the Imparfait and Passe Simple

5.1 Categories of examples

5.2-5.11 Imparfait: Uses
5.2 Circumstance or description
5.3 Imparfait-passé simple: Classical opposition
5.4 Duration
5.5 Background
5.6 Commentary
5.7 Perspective or indirect style
5.8 Picturesque, historical, or narrative
5.9 Closing or opening
5.10 Habitual
5.11 Progression

5.12-5.13 Passé simple: Uses
5.12 Nonstative verbs
5.13 Stative verbs

Event and State in a French Narrative Text

6.1-6.8 Surface structure of L huissier
6.1 Initial chunking of L huissier
6.2 Episode 1
6.3 Episode 3
6.4 Breakdown of episode 2
6.5 Episode 2a
6.6 Episode 2b1
6.7 Episode 2b2
6.8 Surface structure findings

6.9-6.11 Notional structure of L huissier
6.9 Tension level and peak markings
6.10 Stage or setting and climactic sections
6.11 Summary of notional structure
6.12 Summary
6.13 Conclusions

Appendix
References