Aspect and the semantics-pragmatics interface: The case of already

Abstract

This study portrays the English adverb already as a pragmatically ambiguous marker of temporal priority. The adverb codes the existence of a state of affairs at a reference time, prior to a reference interval containing a like type. This reference interval is unlinked to any reference time, and hence lexically underspecified. Such underspecification allows for varying contextually evoked interpretations; already has a variety of uses in context. Instances of these uses, and of the discourse contexts from which they are adduced, are discussed. Already is held to represent a contextual operator, i.e., an aspectual construct whose description requires reference to both semantic and discourse-pragmatic structure.