Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 November 2008
There has been much discussion, mainly by Montague grammarians, of the fact that ‘transportation’ of adverbials affects use or semantic interpretation of perfect sentences. Consider, for example, the following perfect sentences: (1) with a durational PP in sentence-final position; (2) with a durational PP in sentence-initial position; and (3) with a durational wh-phrase in sentence-initial position:
(1) John has been in Tucson for two years.
(2) For two years, John has been in Tucson.
(3) How long has John been in Tucson?
(4) (a) John has been in Tucson for two years up to now.
(b) John was in Tucson for two years in the past.