This book is a much revised version of my doctoral dissertation ‘Discourse Modes and Bases: A Study of the Use of Tenses in Vergil’s Aeneid’, defended at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam at the ninth of September 2008. I wrote my dissertation under the supervision of Caroline Kroon and Harm-Jan van Dam, and I thank them for their support during and after the project. When I was writing my dissertation, I profited much from meetings with Egbert Bakker and Carlotta Smith during a research visit to the University of Texas in Austin. I am grateful for the helpful questions and comments of the members of the defence committee, Rutger Allan, Stephen Harrison, Irene de Jong, Harm Pinkster, Wilbert Spooren. In addition, I would like to thank Albert Rijksbaron for an in depth discussion of the theory and methodology of this book.
When a project takes a bit longer, the list of people who have helped in one way or another grows. I cannot enumerate all people on this project’s list here, but I am grateful to everyone on it. By far the best additions to my list are Jasper and Pjotr. I thank them, Matthijs Brouwer and the rest of my family for making daily life special.