0. Preface

1. Tempus, Aspect and Aktionsart

1.1. Tempus

1.2. Aspect

1.3. The relationship between Tempus and Aspect

1.4. Aktionsart

1.5. Conclusion

2. The Latin perfect and imperfect

2.1. The perfect

2.1.1. Roman grammarians

2.1.2. The notion 'completion'

2.1.3. The orientation moment of the perfect

2.1.4. Explanations for the present and past value of the perfect

2.1.4.1. The diachronic approach

2.1.4.2. The two-dimensional approach

2.1.5. Idiomatic uses of the perfect

2.2. The imperfect

2.2.1. The semantic value of the imperfect

2.2.2. Contextual interpretations of the imperfect

3. The role of the tenses in narrative structure

3.1. The imperfect as a background tense

3.2. The distribution of the 'historical verb forms'

3.3. Coordination of different verb forms

3.4. The 'werkimmanent' approach

4. Historic present and historic infinitive

4.1. The historic present

4.2. The historic infinitive

5. Conclusion