In this paper, I propose that switch-reference in Quechua can best be analyzed as agreeing tense. Given the properties of the Quechuan switch-reference system and the clause structure of Quechua, I assume that a switch-reference adverbial clause does not have a valued tense feature and must agree with its superordinated clause in tense. Tense agreement is only possible if the subjects of both clauses are identical. The same subject marker is analyzed as the spell-out of successful tense agreement, while the different subject marker is the spell-out of failed agreement. I argue that this approach to switch-reference is conceptually as well as empirically compelling and raises the interesting question as to whether switch-reference is a true morpho-syntactic category or not.
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