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Abstract

This study examines non-canonical uses of the Present Perfect (PrPf) with definite past time adverbials such as + NP, and in British English (BrE) and American English (AmE), drawing on data from the (BNC) and the (COCA). While quantitatively marginal, these uses reveal a distinctive pattern: in pragmatically marked contexts, especially in spontaneous speech and media, the PrPf encodes both past anchoring and current relevance, violating canonical constraints. I argue that these instances reflect a strategy of relevance compression, where the PrPf functions as a discourse shortcut, simultaneously maintaining topic continuity and signaling temporal relevance. Ambiguous contexts, where current relevance and past perfective readings co-exist, are prevalent in AmE, where a past perfective interpretation may be salient. Ultimately, the study confirms that genre and register shape the distribution and interpretation of tense forms, with innovation concentrated in spoken, spontaneous contexts.

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2026-04-17
2026-05-11

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/content/journals/10.1075/eww.25038.bon
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The present perfect and definite past time adverbials
John Benjamins ; https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.25038.bon
/content/journals/10.1075/eww.25038.bon
/content/journals/10.1075/eww.25038.bon
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: functional shift ; aspectual reanalysis ; register and genre variation ; cross-varietal comparison ; discourse pragmatics ; temporal reference

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