This talk advocates for a cross-domain approach to temporal semantics. I will focus on the semantics of the verbal-suffix le, a central puzzle in the study of the temporal system of Mandarin. It is argued that instead of a dedicated temporal morpheme, le should be construed as a cross-domain functional particle underspecified for the associated semantic domain. The key motivation for this characterization comes from the parallel uses of le in run-of-the-mill VPs (1) and comparatives (2) that are subject to similar licensing conditions – here reflected as the requirement for measure phrases. Le is responsible for the past interpretation in (1), which is absent in (2).

1. (1)  Nézha xǐhuān le Yángjiǎn ∗(wǔ-nián). Nezha like le Yangjian ∗(five-year) ‘Nezha liked Yangjian for five years.’

2. (2)  Nézha bǐ Yángjiǎn gāo le #(wǔ-gōngfēn). Nezha compare Yangjian tall le #(five-centimeter) ‘Nezha is 5cm taller than Yangjian.’

I will show that the behaviors of le across these constructions follow from a single parameterized entry. The sentential meanings of (1) and (2) are derived in parallel with le imposing a ‘precedence’ relation, respectively on the timeline and the degree scale (of height). The licensing condition of le reflects a semantic constraint against prejacents that satisfy the property I call ‘Atomic Distributiv- ity’. The latter is essentially a domain-neutral, strict version of the ‘subinterval property’ (Bennett & Partee 1972). I will further demonstrate that this characterization delivers a satisfactory account for other temporal behaviors of le, and can be extended to its association with the spatial domain, when interacting with so-called as ‘extent predicates’ (Gawron 2005, 2009).