Seminar support sheet on SOT

A. SOT AN EFFECT OF INDIRECT SPEECH

TENSE: a DEICTIC category (temporal interpretation is relative to ST)
(1)I arrived yesterday.
PAST = ET before ST
(2)They leave tomorrow.
FUTURE= ET after ST
(3)
They are here now.
PRESENT= ET at ST
Embedded clauses are not directly linked to ST:
John said [ that he had already repaired the computer.]
>> Indirectly related to ST, via the tense of the matrix >> The semantic interpretation of tenses in an
embedded clause depends on the temporal interpretation of the main clause, i.e. they are oriented
towards the ET of the matrix (and not towards ST)
>>
DEIXIS = the major difference between direct and indirect speech
DEICTIC expressions:
> Tense
> Personal pronouns (1st and 2nd person)
> Demonstratives
> Time expressions (deictic )
> Spatial expressions
>> they are interpreted in relation to certain features of the utterance-act (direct speech)
or they are interpreted wholly or predominantly in relation to the act of reporting (indirect speech)

One syntactic reflex of this semantic dependence: the SEQUENCE OF TENSES RULE (SOT)
= a past tense in a main clause requires only past tenses in the embedded clause (TENSE
BACKSHIFT)
= when reporting a persons statement under a past verb of saying , one must
backshift all the tenses in the reported statement

B. CASES WHEN SOT CAN BE DISREGARDED (i.e., it exceeds the domain of Indirect Speech)
ex. John told me they leave tomorrow.
Smith (1978)
when a present tense is used instead of a past tense in reported speech the speaker is responsible
[]for the complements being true or relevant at speech time. [] such sentences indicate that the
same event or state referred to holds both at the time referred to in the matrix and at ST.
John heard that Mary is pregnant.
= the situation holds both at ET of the matrix and at ST
= the situation is TRUE at ST
>> SOT can be disregarded if the complement can be viewed as speaker-oriented, i.e. the original
utterance is still applicable and relevant at ST:
= Double Access Reading (DAR)
(i) the complement is true at ST
(ii) the complement was true at the time of saying (at the time of the reporting verb)
WHEN can the SOT rule be disregarded?, i.e. when is SOT optional?
a. if DAR , e.g. generic and habitual sentences
She told me she is 31.
Galileo proved that the earth is round.
They told me they love syntax.
b. if Factive predicates in the matrix (their complement is a FACT, it is presupposed to be TRUE)
1.Epistemic factives (= express the subjects state of knowledge or the manner in which the subject
came to know the truth)

find out/ realize/ discover / see / know / perceive/ learn /notice

2. Affective factives:
Regret / resent /be sorry/surprised/amused/amazed/happy/upset
x. Bill forgot that you dont like chocolate.
didnt like chocolate.
Bill denied that he lives in London.
he lived in London.
c. if Verbs of communication in the matrix : SAY, TELL, COMMUNICATE, ANSWER, ASSERT,
INDICATE, IMPLY
She said that most students often have problems with this professor.
= the complement is interpreted as speaker-oriented (DAR)
Peter said that Jane intends to leave on the 14th. (= the complement still holds at ST)
Peter said that Jane intended to leave on the 14th.
C. Verbs which DO NOT ALLOW optional SOT (verbs that require SOT)
a. Manner of speech Vs: GRUNT, GRUMBLE, MUTTER, MUMBLE, WHISPER, SHOUT, YELL,..
* He grumbled that he wants to leave.
* They shouted that they are going to be late.
* The old woman grumbled that she does not like the pudding.
b. Non-factive verbs of propositional attitude: THINK, BELIEVE, HOPE, WISH, GUESS, RECKON,
FANCY, IMAGINE, ESTIMATE, JUDGE
* Bill thought his wife is a nice person.
* He believed she still loves him.
* He hoped that she still cares about him.
c. Non-factive verbs of linguistic communication: ALLEGE, DECLARE, INSIST, SUGGEST
* He insisted that he is clever.
* In your statement you alleged that the accused man is not your friend.
D. The SIMULTANEOUS AND THE SHIFTED READING OF PAST TENSE IN
COMPLEMENT CLAUSES
John said that Mary was pregnant.
(i) Mary was pregnant at the time when John said that= THE SIMULTANEOUS READING of
the PAST TENSE
(ii) Mary was pregnant before John said that = THE SHIFTED READING of the PAST TENSE
John said it was raining.
(i) it was raining when John said that (simultaneous reading) [John looked out the window and saw it
was raining] >> ET2 = ET1
(ii) it had rained before John saying it (shifted reading)
[John said (yesterday) that it was raining (when he visited his wife at the hospital)] >> ET2 before ET1
but
a. Mary said that John left.
b. Mary announced that she received a letter.
!!! ONLY the shifted reading is available >> in a) = John left before Mary said it; in b) = The letter
was received before Marys announcement of the event
if the predicate = STATE >> 2 readings available (simultaneous & shifted)
if the predicate = EVENTIVE >> One single reading available (the shifted reading)
The aspectual class the predicate (in the subordinate!) belongs to may influence the temporal
interpretation of the complement clause
The shifted reading: statives & eventives
The simultaneous reading: only statives
John said that Mary was angry.
(i) ET1 = RT2; ET2 before RT2 (shifted)
(ii)ET1 = RT2; ET2 at RT2 (simultaneous)
John said that Mary was angry [when he left]. >> How many readings?