PLUPERFECT – ABSOLUTE, RELATIVE OR ABSOLUTE-RELATIVE TEMPORAL FORM?

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of grammatical status of pluperfect forms of German and Ukrainian languages.The study differentiates the views of scientists on pluperfect forms in terms of their relative or absolute interpretation. Thedefinition of the pluperfect with the future temporal reference is given, confirmed by applied representations and analysisof the studied units in the sentence structure. From the point of view of traditional linguistic interpretation, pluperfect isa form that expresses either “precedence over another past action” or “distant past”. However, in this study, we look at newmeanings of this grammar: “present” or “future”.The article raises the problem of the futural orientation of pluperfect forms, based on two positions: when pluperfectis used in the sense of “past” in relation to another past action. That is, when this gram is in opposition to its conventionalmeaning; when the plusquamperfect expresses the meaning of “counterfactual” with the future temporal reference, when the subject of the statement knows that in the real world certain actions cannot be realized because they contradictthe objective laws of human existence. The use of the pluperfect forms in such constructions indicates that language notonly does not limit us by means of expressing real knowledge about the world, but also provides such for the reproductionof hypothetical, unreal or counterfactual statements.It is concluded that from the point of view of temporality, the conjunctive forms of the pluperfect are timeless and canexpress the action that occurs at the time of speech, occurred (or could occur) before the moment of speech or will occurafter the moment of speech, the temporal nature of the verbal form recedes into the background. It is proposed to considerplusquamperfect as an absolute-relative time form.