Gleich-, Nach- und Vorzeitigkeitsrelationen in den als-Temporalsatzgefügen im Deutschen

The paper discusses ways of expressing the temporal relations of simultaneity, anteriority and posteriority in adverbial clauses with als in the German language. Although the relations can be expressed by participle phrases, noun phrases, prepositional phrases and infinitive phrases, the adverbial clause is the most frequent means of expressing the relations. The temporal adverbial clause has an almost unlimited range of application which stretches from vaguely hinted relation to absolute necessity, and from general statements and clarifications to definite emotionally motivated utterances. Wherever there is an obvious connection between facts, events, actions, relations as well as personal will and feeling, it can be expressed by means of a temporal structure.