Perfecto simple y perfecto compuesto: de la gramática al discurso

Abstract

This article is part of a larger project which aims at describing —from a formal semantics perspective— the temporal structure of discourse in Spanish. In this paper we analyse the role that two Spanish tenses —perfecto simple and perfecto compuesto— play in discourse. Using the framework provided by Discourse Representation Theory, we describe the semantics of these two tenses and we propose a representation for both of them. The representation proposed is based on Dowty's extended now theory of the present perfect (English equivalent for Spanish perfecto compuesto). We show that the extended now theory provides a very intuitive way of representing not only perfecto compuesto, but also the perfecto simple and the effect of several adverbials. Finally, we will examine the discourse relations of sentences in which perfecto simple and perfecto compuesto appear.