In this paper, we investigate how certain types of predicates should be connected with certain types of degree scales, and how this can affect the events they describe. The distribution and interpretation of various degree adverbials will serve us as a guideline in this perspective. They suggest that two main types of degree scales should be distinguished: (i) quantity scales, which are characterized by the semantic equivalence of Yannig ate the cake partially and Yannig ate part of the cake; quantity scales only appear with verbs possessing an incremental theme (cf. Dowty 1991); (ii) intensity scales, which are characterized by degree modifiers (e.g., extremely, perfectly) receiving an intensive interpretation; intensity scales typically occur with verbs morphologically related to an adjective (to dry). More generally, we capitalize on a typology of degree structures to explain how degrees play a central role with respect to event structure.

Le présent article exposera d’abord comment le sens aspectuo-temporel influe sur la construction des jugements modaux avec diverses sortes d’expressions du français (structures conditionnelles, verbes modaux, tiroirs verbaux). Il se penchera ensuite sur les usages dits conjecturaux du futur, de façon à mesurer si et comment il est possible d’étendre à l’évidentialité les observations faites sur les relations temps/aspect – modalité en français.

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This chapter is concerned with determining how strictly ordered sequences of events described by the passé composé (PC) in Old French should be accounted for. The analysis here proposed will combine (i) insights from analyses claiming that this tense did not have (yet) a past perfective semantic content (e.g. Martin 1971), but really behaves like a resultative narrative (‘perfective’) present in many of the above configurations, with (ii) insights from analyses claiming that it had perfective uses in some specific types of sequence of events configurations, albeit at a pragmatic level. The chapter will also show how recurrent inter-clausal syntactic patterns, as well as non-syntactically marked related discourse structural patterns, simultaneously played a role in the rise of such uses—thus pointing to interesting convergences between syntax and discourse, and to some properties they might share, particularly with respect to grammatical processes.

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