Framtidsuttrycken i svenskans temporala system

The main aim of this study is to specify the contextual conditions that apply to the use of the three central expressions for the future in Swedish: the present form and the auxiliaries skola and komma. A tense suffix indicates a temporal domain and states that a mediating element, here called FIX, is placed in the indicated domain. The present suffix points to a domain that overlaps temporally with the speech point (SP). The past suffix points to a domain which lies entirely before SP. If it is to be possible to interpret a finite clause temporally, the speaker and the listener must be able to determine the placing of FIX within the suffix domain. FIX must therefore be specified by some intra- or extralinguistic (temporal) element. Two main types of FIX specification are distinguished: 1. TA-specification (the element that specifies FIX is a time adverbial, TA); 2. context specification (FIX is specified by a time that is stated in the discourse space (i.e. SP) or by a referential situation that has been mentioned in the preceding linguistic context (narration-specification). When FIX is TA-specified, there is temporal overlap between FIX and SIT (i.e., the time of the referential situation). When FIX is context-specified, there is a temporal overlap between FIX and SIT if the aktionsart of the finite verb is unbounded, while SIT can be located after FIX if the aktionsart of the finite verb is bounded. As regards the function of the future expressions in the tense system, the question of which element specifies FIX is crucial for the analysis of them all: the present used to refer to the future can be either TA-specified or SP-specified, and for both skola and komma their function as central verbal expressions for the future is above all associated with contexts where SP specifies FIX. Future skola can be subdivided into two functions: intentional-predictional skola, which occurs only when SP specifies FIX, and purely predictional skola, which occurs most commonly when FIX is narration-specified. The auxiliary komma can be divided into two main functions: aspectual komma, which mainly occurs in contexts where something other than SP specifies FIX, and future komma, which largely occurs only in contexts where SP specifies FIX.