Newsgroups: sci.lang,alt.politics.ec
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From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Subject: Re: Nit-picking
Message-ID: <D59tKu.G24@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK
References: <D51Hx7.I0I@indirect.com> <3jjriu$lm@marble.Britain.EU.net> <3jo1sa$158@news.globalx.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 1995 10:10:04 GMT
Lines: 18

In article <3jo1sa$158@news.globalx.com> davison@globalx.net (Rod Davison) writes:
>In article <3jjriu$lm@marble.Britain.EU.net>, Paul Sampson <paul.sampson@octacon.co.uk> says:
>>English has a future tense?
>
>If it doesn't now, it will have.

Very witty indeed, but off the point.  I'm under the impression that
most linguists who have done research on English (or, more generally,
Germanic) tense have regarded the so-called future as a modal rather
than a temporal category.  So I don't know about alt.politics.ec, but
on sci.lang it is perfectly justified to question the existence of a
future tense in English.

-- 
`"Na, na ... ah mean, *no wey*, wi aw due respect, ma lady," stammers Joe.'
Ivan A Derzhanski (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk)    (J Stuart, _Auld Testament Tales_)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,   Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House E113, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Pk Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
