TEMPORAL LINKS: DEFINITION AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The temporary links are connectors allowing subordinate clauses providing them to relate sense. By using temporal links we are linking main sentences to subordinate sentences through time.

There are two types of links, coordinating links and subordinating links. Coordinating links are those that join words or sentences of the same category. There are four types of coordinating links: copulative, disjunctive, adversative and ilative.

Subordinating links are those that subordinate an unimportant proposition to the main proposition. There are three types of subordination: substantive subordination, adjective subordination, and adverbial subordination.

The links of substantive subordination are those that use the conjunctions that, the that, the fact that, if; interrogative pronouns what, what, how, when… for example "the fact that you smoke is bad"

Adjective subordination links use relative pronouns, for example "the tobacco you gave me is very bad"

Adverbial subordination links use adverbs to establish the order of subordination.

We can distinguish between temporal, local, modal and comparative, within circumstantial subordination, and causal and consecutive in logical subordination.

Characteristics of temporal links

Temporal links are used to connect subordinate clauses through adjectives, to locate and order a fact chronologically.

We can distinguish three classes of temporal links: those of anteriority, those of simultaneity and those of posteriority.

The previous ones mark the chronological order of the previous events that we subordinate to the main sentence.

Those of simultaneity mark the time in which two simultaneous events occur. And those of posteriority mark the immediate succession of the subordinate clause to the main clause.

Within literary texts we can find a large number of elements that provide temporal information, but they are not always about links, but sometimes they fulfill a syntactic function as a circumstantial complement of time.

Temporal links are also used as structuring information within a text. They can introduce an enumeration, point out the last fact, discursive computers of the enumeration, etc.

Image via anep.edu.uy.

In the following table we can see all the temporal links that can be used in the Spanish lexicon.

Examples of temporary links

Within subordinate clauses:

1-My grandmother was asleep when my uncle Juan arrived.

2-It started to rain when I got home.

3-Before we knew it, it had already left.

4-After the people left, he told me his secret.

5-As soon as you finish the task you can go play.

6-He is always with me when I need him.

7-When I go, you come.

8-Let me know when you are ready.

9-I dyed my hair when I got divorced.

10-I picked up the house when I arrived on my trip.

In literary texts it is necessary to distinguish those that are temporary links of circumstantial complement of time:

Example 1

Extracted from the work of Cortázar, Continuity of the parks.

In this case, First and now are temporal links, however, the latter is a circumstantial complement of time.

Example 2

Extracted from the work of Stelardo, Don Julio.

Example 3

Extracted from Borges's work, El aleph.

Example 4

Extracted from Cortázar's work, Viajes.

References

1. CHOMSKY, Noam; OTERO, Carlos P. Aspects of syntax theory. Aguilar, 1976.
2. GILI GAYA, Samuel, et al. Advanced course in Spanish syntax. 1970.
3. FOREST, Ignacio; GUTIÉRREZ-REXACH, Javier. Fundamentals of Formal Syntax. Akal Editions, 2009.
4. HERNÁNDEZ, Guillermo; YAGÜE, Lourdes; SÁNCHEZ, José Luis. Spanish language and literature. Spanish general library society, 1995.
5. OFFICIAL, ARIO. SPANISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.
6. OSMA, Carmen Chirivella. Spanish language and literature.
7. RAYA, UNA, et al. Spanish language and Literature. 2007.