Sequence of Tense violations in subjunctive clauses

Starting from the assumption that the occurrence of Sequence of Tense violations in subjunctive argument clauses is sensitive to the type of clause, we examine the distribution of [Present under Past] occurrences violating the double access requirement (i.e. those in which the event in the subjunctive clause precedes Speech Time) in two closely related Spanish varieties, Argentinian and Uruguayan Spanish. Our results show that the two varieties clearly differ both in the frequency of occurrence of the [Present under Past] pattern and in the sensitivity of SoT violations to the type of clause, with the Argentinian variety exhibiting greater frequency of the pattern and less sensitivity to the type of clause. This supports our assumption that the Argentinian variety is more advanced in the process of change affecting the temporal specification of the present subjunctive as a morphological form.