Latin tenses (semantics)
From a semantic perspective, a tense is a temporal circumstance in which an event takes place relative to a given point in time. {{efn-lr| ‘Tense’ is a ‘deictic’ category, by which the state of affairs expressed by the predication is located in time. – Pinkster, 1990, 11.1.2}}
It is absolute (primary) if it relates the represented event to the time of the speech event  The verb group is often accompanied by spatial and temporal adjuncts such as  'there',  'then', and  'at that moment'. Secondary past

The secondary past is the past relative to a primary tense, which can be future, present or past. There are three secondary pasts in Latin: 1. the simple secondary past is realised by verbs with perfectum aspect such as fēcerō, fēcī, fēceram; 2. the compound secondary past with "sum" is realised by the periphrasis factus + ero, sum, eram or fuī; and 3. the compound secondary past with "habeō" is realised by the periphrasis factum + habēbō, habeō, habēbam or habuī. In the secondary past, imperfect indicative auxiliaries such as eram and habēbam are more frequent than their perfect indicative counterparts such as fuī and habuī. Tertiary tenses

Tertiary past

If the secondary past applies to an event that had happened prior to a past point in time, the tertiary past applies to a third event that had happened earlier than that. The tertiary past is realised by a 'pluperfect indicative' auxiliary in either the "sum" perfect periphrasis or the "habeō" perfect periphrasis. Both the compound tertiary past with  and the compound tertiary past with  are uncommon tenses. Bibliography

Formal descriptions

De Melo, Wolfgang David Cirilo (2007a), The Sigmatic Future in Archaic Latin. in De Melo, Wolfgang David Cirilo, The Early Latin Verb System: Archaic Forms in Plautus, Terence, and Beyond Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.171–190

De Melo, Wolfgang David Cirilo (2007b), Simple Future and Future Perfect in Archaic Latin. in De Melo, Wolfgang David Cirilo, The Early Latin Verb System: Archaic Forms in Plautus, Terence, and Beyond Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.21–50

Devine, Andrew M. & Laurence D. Stephens (2006), Latin Word Order. Structured Meaning and Information. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Galdi, Giovanbattista (2016). On 'coepi'/'incipio' + infinitive: some new remarks. Chapter in Adams, James Noel and Vincent, Nigel. Early and late Latin: continuity or change? Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, p.246-264

Haverling, Gerd V.M. (2002). "On the semantic functions of the Latin perfect". Amsterdam Studies in Classical Philology, Volume 10. Pinkster, Harm (1987). "The Strategy and Chronology of the Development of Future and Perfect Tense Auxiliaries in Latin". In Martin Harris and Paolo Ramat (eds.) Historical Development of Auxiliaries (Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs, 35). De Gruyter Mouton. Rosén, Hannah (2012). "The late Latin  + infinitive construction: evidences from translated texts". in Classica et Mediaevalia, vol. 63, pp. 189-215 

Viti, Carlotta (2010). "The non-literal use of tenses in Latin, with particular reference to the praesens historicum". Revue de linguistique latine du Centre Alfred Ernout. (Posted at Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich). Functional descriptions
Aerts, Simon (2018). "Tense, Aspect and Aktionsart in Classical Latin: Towards a New Approach". Symbolae Osloenses 92(1):107–149. Haverling, Gerd V.M. (2012). "Actionality, tense, and viewpoint". In Baldi, Philip; Cuzzolin, Pierluigi (eds.) (2012). Constituent Syntax: Adverbial Phrases, Adverbs, Mood, Tense. , pp. 277–524. Schlicher, J. J. (1931). "The Historical Tenses and Their Functions in Latin". Classical Philology Vol. 26, No. 1 (Jan., 1931), pp. 46–59. Grammar books

Touratier, Christian (2013). "Lateinische Grammatik - linguistische Einführung in die lateinische Sprache". WBG: Darmstadt

Gildersleeve, B. L. & Gonzalez Lodge (1895). Gildersleeve's Latin Grammar. 3rd Edition. (Macmillan)

Guerreira, Augustín Ramos (2021), “Tiempo y Aspecto” in José Miguel Baños Baños, “Sintaxis Latina”, Vol. I, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Madrid. ISBN 978-8400108250

Pinkster, Harm (1990), Latin Syntax and Semantics. Chapter 11: The Latin tense system. Rubenbauer, Hans & Hofmann, J.B. (2018) Lateinische Grammatik''. Oldenburg Schulbuchverlag GmbH, Munich. ISBN 978-3-63706940-4

References

Citations

Latin grammar