In this extended abstract back- and-forth structures are defined and applied to the semantics of natural language. Back- and-forth structures consist of an event structure and an interval structure communicating via a relational link; transitions in the one structure correspond to transitions in the other. Such structures enable us to view temporal constructions (such as tense, aspect, and temporal connectives) as methods of moving systematically between information sources. We illustrate this with a treatment of the English present perfect, and progressive aspect, that draws on ideas developed in Moens and Steedman (1988).
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