Harry Potter et le parfait

Abstract

In the past, a lot of research has been done into the use of the past verbal tenses, we are building on earlier studies by Reichenbach (1947) and the Swart (2007). These studies are useful as a basis, but have as a starting point the use of the past tense in narration. However, in this study we focus on the use of the perfect in the dialogue. We investigate the behaviour of the perfect in dialogue in chapter 16 and 17 of the first Harry Potter book, a classic narrative in which we also find a lot of dialogue. A comparison is made in the translation of this chapters in Dutch, French and Spanish.