topic 7

-> can, may, will, shall, ought, need, dare, must

-> could, might, would should -> used occasionally to describe past tense

->  more commonly used to describe factual remotness and politeness

apparently, unfortunately, in fact, as one might expect,…

One must consider it possible that…

It is to be considered that…

I hope that…

I’m happy that…

• Central (core) Modals
• Peripheral (marginal, semi-) modals

can/could, may/might, must, shall/should, will/would

• Followed by bare Infinitive
• Negated by “-n’t”
• Past form often doesn’t refer to past

lexical verbs that can be used as modals

                I have to pick her up after school.

                She ought to help me.

                This is to be delivered by tomorrow.

The absence of a clear cut boundary betwenn one category and another

Main verb<->Modal auxiliary

• Deontic
• Epistemic

• Permission: You may leave. The boss says you can leave.
• Obligation: You must leave.
• Weak obligation: You should think of others.
• Volition/Willingness: Will you help me?

• Possibility: He may be crazy. Grammar can be fun.
• Necessity: He must be crazy.
• Probability: I should be done soon.
• Prediction: That will be the post man

• Less frequent modal meaning
• Attribute/characteristic of subject-referent
• Associates with “ability” or with sense of “will”

Mary can speak English. -> ability

Max won’t speak English. ->sense of will

Hedging: reduce the strength of a claim à prevent overstating a claim

…suggests that…this could be explained by…this is very unlikely…

I’d love it, if you came. à hypothetical

If you had come, you would have met her. à counterfactual, could have but didn’t 

• Declarativeà Statement  
• He is serious.
• InterrogativesàQuestion

Closed interrogative: Is he serious?

Open interrogative: Where do you come from?

• ImperativeàOrder

            Be serious.

• ExclamativesàExclamation

How serious he is! What great big teeth you have!