Grammatical Aspects in Tenseless Theory of Sinhala

Studying tense-and-aspect systems is a major area in linguistic studies. There is no example for grammatical aspects in Sinhala language mentioned in the academic literature on grammar. There were several stages of the development of tense theories. In my previous work “There are no tenses in Sinhala Language” I verified that all the tense theories for Sinhala language fail and the verb categories which are misunderstood as tenses are actually not tenses. This article summarizes the result of my previous work and describes my novel formulation in formal linguistic terms. The result is to understand the aspectual nature of the Sinhala verbs.

Time and time again: two volumes by William Lane Craig William Lane Craig The Tensed Theory of Time: A Critical Examination. Synthese Library Volume 293. (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000). Pp. v+287. £78.00 (Hbk). ISBN 0792366344. William Lane Craig The Tenseless Theory of Time: A Critical Examination. Synthese Library Volume 294. (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000). Pp. v+256. £65.00 (Hbk). ISBN 0792366352.

The two books make a notable contribution in drawing together many of the philosophical problems about time, and the associated literature. The expositions are also valuable for their interdisciplinary strengths, especially in the history and philosophy of science and (to a lesser extent) in theology, and for the clarity and thoroughness of Craig's approach. However, the two books do not present, as might at first appear, a side by side exposition of the respective strengths and weaknesses of the A-series and the B-series views of time. They are, rather, one interconnected defence of the A-series view. Some of the strengths and weaknesses of Craig's exposition and defence of the A-series view are noted.