2 kinds of meaning of modals
Logical (semantic)
prectical (pragmatic)
primary modal auxiliaries
can, could, may, might, must, will, would, shall, should, (have to)
How are modal verb phrases constructed?
central modal + infinitive
cn do
could read
will be
central modals precede the subject in yes/no questions ans the negator “no”
May I borrow your pen?
You max not borrow my pen.
primary forms of central modals
can, may, shall, will, must
these forms tend to co-occur with present or future time.
must has only one form
secondary forms of central modals
could, might, should, would, had to
tend to co-occur with past time meanings
meaning of must in the past is “had to”
tense of central modals
never marked for tense
instead they have a primary and secondary form which is assoiated with past, present or future time meanings
Logical/extrinsic meaning:
Modal verbs with logical meaning usually co-occur with …
Modal verbs with logical meaning usually co-occur with inanimate subjects and/or main verbs that are state verbs
e.g. It cannot be possible
possible logical/exrinsic meaning:
possibility - it might be possible
necessity - There should be a rule for that.
prediction - This will be the weirdest year of my life.
What is a modal auxiliary verb?
an aux modal verb is one which precedes another auxiliary or main verb.
If a verb phrase includes a central modal and a semi-modal they follow this order:
central modal + semi modal + main ver
e.g.
might have been going to
may need to
wouldn’t dare to
Modals and semi- modals can be inflected to show following aspects:
perfect - must have gone
progressive - must be going
perfect progressive - ought not to have been going
modals and voice
modal verbs can have active or passive voice
for a modal verb to have personal(intrinsic) meaning it needs to have:
an animate subject and dynamic verb
I could take a break.
They might eat lunch later together.
possible personal/intrinsic meanings:
permission - May I take a break?
ability - I can swim.
possibility - If the weather were nice, I could fo swimming.
obligation - You must write an essay for class.
intention - I’m going to eat cake.
volition - I will learn to speak Spanish.
Semi modals are verbs which have… qualities:
lexical verb qualities (some can be inflected for tense and person)
and some modal qualities
semi modals include:
be suposed to
ought to
need to
be going to
have got to
had better
dare to
semi modals and inflection
These can be inflected for tense or number:
have to
be supposed to
semi modals without inflection:
All of the modals and semi-modals have meanings that relate to personal (intrinsic) or logical (extrinsic) meaning.
There are three categories of major categories of meaning:
permission/ability
obligation/necessity
volition/prediction
Why does Leech include “have to” with the central modal auxiliaries?
has a similar meaning to can, may, must
very frequent modals
will, would, can, could
quite frequent modals
may, might, have to
infrequent modals
shall. ought (to), need
three categories of modals in terms of frequency
Very frequent, quite frequent, infrequent
Meanings associated with the verb “can”?
possibility, permission, ability
meanings asociated with the verb “may”
possibility, permission, quasi-sunjunctive (hopes ans wishes) meaning
give an example of quasi-subjunctive use of may
May the road rise to meet you.
What meanings are associated with the verb must?
obligation, rewuirement. logical necessity
What meanings are associated with the verb “have to”?
obligation, rewuirement, logical necessity
contrast in meaning between “permission” and “obligation” and between “possibility” and “necessity” What is the term he uses?
Iverseness/opposite siedes of the coin
How do factual and theoretical possibility differ?
factual possibility: stronger (more likely)
heoretical possibility: weaker (less likely)
Meanings associated with the verb “will”?
predictability, intention, willingness, insistence
What are meamnings associated with the verb “shall”?
prediction, intention, other volitional meanings, rules and regulations
What happens if may, must or shall occur in a question rather than a statement?
meaning is reversed
Negation has two different effects on the modal verbs. What are they?
sometimes it negates the modal statement
sometimes the main verb statement is negated
One of the modals can’t take a contracted negator. Which?
May
Which modas have past time meaning?
might, could, would, should
What effect does the perfect infinitive have when combined with a modal auxiliary?
it assigns past tense/time meaning to the verb phrase in the main clause
List as many marginal modals (semi-modals) as you can:
ougth to
is to
be bound to
would rather
be allowed to
be permitted to
be willing to
be able to
want to
Inflection of modals and semi modals: (can or cannot be inflected for tense)
central modals: cannot be inflected for tense
semi-modals can be inflected for tense
Inflection of modals and semi modals: (can or cannot be inflected for person)
central modals: cannot be inflected for person
semi-modals: can be inflected for person
For a modal verb phrase to have personal meaning it requires the following:
The order of verbs in a modal verb phrase is:
sami modal + modal + main verb
The order of verbs in a verb phrase should follow this pattern:
modal + semi modal + main verb
for a modal verb phrase to have extrinsic meaning it requires:
The overall category of meaning for the modal verbs can, could, may, might is permission/ability.
which statements are correct
The overall categoryy of meaning for the modal verbs must, should and ought to (amongst others) is obligatory/necessity.
The overall category of meaning for the modal verbs will, shall, would and be going to is volition/prediction
The modal verb must can have semantic meaning realted to past, present or future time.
True or false?
The modal verb must has the same primary and secondary form.
The modals can, will, may and shall all have primary and secondary forms.
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