Proceeding from a reference-semantic approach, the study develops a concept of deixis allowing a clear distinction between discourse deixis and anaphora. Discourse deixis needs to be regarded as a specific form of temporal deixis invariably containing a metacommunicative element. The metacommunicative component in discourse deixis is expressed above all by the verbs. Temporal deictic reference is based on the interaction between lexical aspect classes and other temporal expressions, not only deictic ones such as tense, but also non-deictic features like grammatical aspect and others - like adverbs - which can be both deictic and non-deictic.