English syntax

From Word to Discourse

The Verb Phrase

Modality and Mood
 Modality
 Statements: The little girl threw the ball over the wall;
The cat chased the rat; Ella gave the dog a bone.
 But we do so much more than that with language:
we speculate,
we hedge,
we predict,
we suggest,
we order,
we demand,
we hope,
we want, etc.
 Modality expresses the view of the speaker
about an activity, state or event.
 Modality has nothing to do with form; many
different kinds of constructions can be used
to express modality:
lexical verbs
modal auxiliaries
semi-auxiliaries
adjectives and adverbs
the imperative mood
the subjunctive mood
Modality in English sentences is usually
divided into two general types:

epistemic modality (possibility, necessity)

deontic modality (obligations, wants,
wishes)
EPISTEMIC MODALITY IN
GENERAL
 Epistemic-epistemology =theories of knowing
 Epistemic modality encompasses all the
ways in which speakers indicate their degree
of commitment to the truth of a given
proposition. It allows speakers to indicate that
they are certain about something, unsure
about it, or deem it impossible.
 nonlinguistic cues, quotation marks, sarcasm
Linguistic cues
 Lexical verbs

I think/believe/assume/guess/suppose/
hear that Joan is taking the job.
I hear that.. .
I assume, I guess, I suppose = a deduction
and not a known fact.
I think and I believe = personal opinion
 Predicate adjective
I am sure/positive/certain that Joan will take the
job
It is likely/possible/conceivable/doubtful that Joan
will take the job

 Sentence modifiers
Maybe it will rain tomorrow.
Supposedly, he composed it himself.
Allegedly, she has robbed four banks.
DEONTIC MODALITY IN GENERAL

 deontic - Greek deontology = "the science of

duty.“
 Deontic modality involves language and
potential action;
 When speakers order, promise, or place an
obligation on someone, they usually exploit
linguistic forms that express deontic modality.
 Directives - A directive is any utterance in which a
speaker tries to get someone else to behave in a
particular way.

I want you to get your feet off the coffee table.

You should help Deanna fix that tire.
These errors must be corrected.
I insist that you leave.
Sit down, shut up, and eat your spinach.
Don't be late.
Please have some more pie.
You might call me when the shipment arrives.
STOP
No smoking.
 Volition - includes wanting, willingness,
intention, and wishing. Sentences that
express promises and threats are also
volitional.
Adam wants to taste tripe.
I promise to take you to the zoo.
I will wash the dishes later.
My daughter insists on dating that idiot.
I am going to repair the roof next week.
I wish to leave.
I’ll punish you if you do that again.
 deontic meanings = only animate,
usually human, subjects.
 Epistemic modality = any kind of

subject.
 MODAL AUXILIARIES
 Modal auxiliaries carry no third person present {-
s} ending (*Bruce cans go now is absolutely
ungrammatical) and they have no past participle
forms no present participle forms, and no
infinitive forms.
 Most modals do have distinct past tense forms: can
- could, will - would, shall - should, may - might.
 Tense is simply a matter of form, not meaning.
 Will and would are the only modals that are routinely
contracted in speech:
 I'll come over later; I'd have been here sooner [if my
car hadn't broken down].
Modal Auxiliaries and Epistemic
Modality
 can, could, should, will, may, might, must, and ought to
That might be Cory at the door
That should be Cory at the door
That must be Cory at the door
 Other examples
It might rain tomorrow.
Angelo may come to the party.
We ought to be in Cleveland by 10 P.M.
The office should be open by now.
Kerry must have taken the folder home.
The airport can't be closed!
That will be Zulah at the door.
 Epistemic can usually occurs only in questions,
negatives, or passives; *That can be Zulah and *It
can be midnight are ungrammatical for most
speakers.
 Will expresses very strong epistemic modality, to the
point that it predicts.
 Would occasionally occurs in epistemic
occurrences. If someone asks you who the best
plumber in town is you might reply "Oh, that would
be my Uncle Walter."
 Shall is never used epistemically.
 Modal Auxiliaries and Deontic
Modality
 Most of the modal auxiliaries discussed
above can also express meanings that are
decidedly non-epistemic.
That must be Cory.
You must clean your room.
Shall
 Rare in routine conversation or writing.
 It is a bit more common in British than American English.
 Like should, shall originally meant "to be obligated," and
this meaning persisted well into Modern English times.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
 Used in legal and contract language and it indicates that
the subject of the sentence has an absolute obligation to
act (or not act), e.g., The defendant shall pay the plaintiff
the sum of $37,000
Should, must, ought to
 should, must, and ought to are most often used to
express deontic modality.
 Modals that express the strongest sense of obligation in
deontic mode are also the modals that express the
strongest likelihood in epistemic mode.
You must leave by noon. / That must be Mom at the
door.
You should leave by noon. / That should be Mom at the
door.
You might mail me the results. / That might be Mom at
the door.
Modal Auxiliaries Used to Express
Volition and Commitment
 Will - Old English wille = "to want." Originally will
was used only to express volition; it was not a future
marker in any way. But even in Modern English will
is more often used to express volition than simple
future time.
It won't rain tomorrow. (prediction)
We asked Martha to help us but she won't. (refusal)
I'll clean up the mess. (willingness)
 Stressed will can be used to express very strong
volition on the part of the subject of the sentence:
My daughter will play in the street even though I
punish her.
 Directive will also expresses strong volition but it
is the volition of the speaker that is at issue, not
that of the subject:
You will finish your homework!

 commitments, promises, and threats.

I'll dry the dishes for you.
I won't be late
Modal auxiliaries expressing volition
 Strong volition He will play with matches [even
though I punish him]; You will clean your room [or
you'll be grounded].
 Willingness & unwillingness I'll carry those
groceries for you; She won't help me mow the lawn.
I'll bring you some ice cream after work.
 Promises I'll take you to the zoo tomorrow.
We'll fix your computer when we get the parts.
 Threats I'll break your arm [if you touch me].
I'll scream [if you come any closer].
Dare and need

 She dare not utter a sound.

 Dare Jack tell his boss the truth?
 Need you play that music so loud?
 Marsha needn't be told.

 Felice needs to rent her apartment

 Summary of modal auxiliaries
Epistemic modals Deontic modals
It will rain tomorrow. He will play with matches.
That must be Dad's car. I will fix that for you.
It can't be snowing! You should help your sister.
She should be home You ought to wash your car.
by now.
They ought to be done You can/may attend the party.
by now.
They may enjoy the play. You might call me tomorrow.
Marcella might be on time. The plaintiff shall honor the contract.
Need Jake be here?
She dare not tell them.
Ability and habitual modals
I can't speak Twi.
Each day she would work out.
 SEMI-AUXILIARIES
 "semi-auxiliaries“- constructions that behave
very much like modals semantically but that do
not share the same grammatical form:
 they are composed of two or three words and
usually end in to.
 With one exception, semi-auxiliaries take the
third person {-s} in the present tense and have
participle and infinitive forms.
You had better leave now. You better leave now
 As a class, semi-auxiliaries express both
epistemic and deontic modality.
 Semi-Auxiliaries

 Wilbur is going to be late.

 Yesim is sure to succeed.
 Your old boyfriend is bound to be there.
 Helge is supposed to dust
 the furniture.
 Reginald appears to be crying.
 Maxine is unlikely to pass.
 You were supposed to clean your room.
 I'll be able to come.
 That helicopter is about to crash.
 You have got to leave.
 Dad seems to be upset.
 Tobias has to finish that project.
 She is certain to fall.
 Dahlia is to arrive at noon.
 Epistemic Semi-Auxiliaries

Be going to
 predicts events: It is going to snow
tomorrow; That chair is going to
crack.
 Imminent events: I’m going to be sick;
That car is going to crash. Look out!
The baby is going to fall
 English has a whole set of semi-auxiliaries
that express varying degrees of certainty.
It is going to rain tomorrow.
Sylvia was bound to hurt herself.
They were certain to be late.
Pat is sure to love the present.
James is (un)likely to buy the house.
The culprit has (got) to be your sister.
Semi-auxiliary seem to and appear to

Harold seems to be unhappy.

This milk seems to be getting sour.
Your brother appears to be sleeping.
Helen appears to hate her job.
Tran Le seems to have recovered

 What kind of confusion can seem to and

appear to cause?
 Deontic Semi-Auxiliaries

Obligation
Have to and have got to are used deontically in
directives and other contexts in which
obligation is being expressed.
You have to clean the garage today.
You have got to talk louder.
Kyle has to move his car.
 Had better = softer directives:
You had better leave now.; You'd better
leave, You better leave. You'd best finish
your lunch.
 Be to can be used in a directive—You are
to clean your room immediately!
 It is also used to communicate a
scheduled event—Adrienne is to arrive
at noon.
 Be supposed to is another semi-auxiliary that lays
an obligation, although that obligation is not
necessarily imposed by the speaker.
Betsy is supposed to file these reports.
You were supposed to be here by 10 A.M.
We are supposed to mail our tax returns by April
15.
 Be sure to and be certain to are often used to
reinforce deontic modality in imperatives—Be sure
to lock the door.
Semi-Auxiliaries Used to Express
Volition, Commitment, and Threats
 Be going to can be used deontically as
well as epistemically.
I am going to finish the project later,
(the speaker is making a promise or a
commitment)
 "I am going to fall“ (epistemic)

"I am going to jump" (volitional deontic).

 "I'm going to call the police if you don't
leave“ (threat)
 Summary of semi-auxiliaries
Epistemic semi-auxiliaries Deontic semi-auxiliaries
It's going to rain tomorrow. I am going to arrest you.
Ginny is about to leave. You have to be quiet.
That has (got) to be Dad. You've got to mow the
lawn.
Tom is bound to hurt himself. You had better wash your
hair.
The baby is sure to fall. You'd best leave now.
Kids are certain to hate it. We were supposed to
help her.
He is (un)likely to be late.
Sherry seems to be content.
They appear to be angry. Ability and habitual semi-
auxiliaries
Janine is able to splice rope.
Esther used to be wealthy
AUXILIARIES,TIME, AND TENSE
 While most modal auxiliaries have a distinct past tense form, this
form is not always used to communicate past time.
 Stressed would can be used to communicate strong volition in
the past: I told him not to cross the street alone, but he would do
it.
 would can also be used to express past willingness or intention:
I invited her but she wouldn't come.
 There are times when would is almost synonymous with will.
Would you help me? and Will you help me? And so is Can you
help me? versus Could you help me?
 Occasionally epistemic would is used for expressing future time
in the past: She would marry within the year and in She hoped
that he would be better soon.
 But the past tense forms of be going to are more
commonly used for predicting in the past. This is
especially true in past tense narratives.
The lamp was going to fall, [but I caught it ]
It was going to snow later.
I knew that she was going to be angry.
 As you have already seen, would is sometimes
used to express a habitual action in the past:
Every day she would go to the gym.
 Could communicates past, long-term ability—I
could sing when I was young.
 Could can also refer to the subject's ability in a
single situation or event, but only in a negative
sentence—I couldn't find you last night; She
couldn't fix my carburetor yesterday.
 could can't be used to refer to a single past act in a
positive sentence. *I could find you last night and
*She could fix my carburetor yesterday are both
ungrammatical.
 The semi-auxiliary be able to is perfectly acceptable
in such sentences—She was able to fix my
carburetor yesterday.
 Should rarelycommunicates past time. You
should clean your room = future obligation.
 Might never communicates past time; You
might call me when the shipment arrives is
clearly a suggestion projected into the future.
 While both ought to and must are past tense
forms in Old English, neither of these verbs
can communicate past time in modern
English.
Using the Perfect to Express Past
Modality
 The following deontic modals must co-occur with the
perfect in order to communicate past time.
You should have cleaned your room. [past obligation]
I would have fixed that for you. [willingness, past]
 You might have called me. [reprimand]
 Marilyn ought to have told you. [past obligation]
 Chandra could have done it. [past ability not acted
upon]
 Must
Thomas must clean his room
Thomas must have cleaned his room [there
aren't any pizza boxes under the bed].
Thomas had to clean his room last night
 The past tense of be to can be used to express
an unfulfilled obligation.
Thomas was to clean his room last night
 She might have lied;
He may have stolen the jewels;
They couldn't have cheated;
It can't have been Jim;
My cousin should have arrived by now.
 Deontic has to can simply be put in the past tense
I had to leave.
 epistemic has to can be used with the perfect
She has to have been there—or without it—She had to be there.
 had better requires the perfect to communicate past time
He had better have finished that assignment.
 be = be carries past tense — Bill was going to take us to the
zoo, but he got sick; Nora was able to finish the painting; Olga
was certain to fail.
Modals and semi-auxiliaries requiring the perfect to communicate
past time
Deontic Epistemic
can __________ That can't have been my car.
could __________ That couldn't have been
Brenna.
would I would have helped but . . . He would have survived if . . .
should She shouldn't have knocked It shouldn't have been
me down. that cold in June.
may __________ It may have rained yesterday.
might You might have informed me It might have snowed
that you'd be late. last night.
must __________ She must have hidden the keys.
ought to You ought to have told him. They ought to have arrived
by now.
had better You had better have finished [had better is never epistemic]
that.
has to __________ Bonnie has to have finished by
now.
1. You must be tired having done all this work.
2. You must do your homework.
3. You can stay here as long as you like.
4. You can’t be serious!
5. She should be home by now.
6. He may be late. That’s what he said.
7. You may smoke in here.
8. She should study harder.
9. You might like this song.
10. You might have called.
1. I’ll help you mow the lawn.
2. Both parties shall observe these provisions.
3. I’ll probably be home later than usual.
4. It’s going to rain.
5. They are certain to succeed.
6. Maria seems to be jealous of her sister.
7. You have to work harder.
8. She is supposed to be back by noon.
9. You’d better start saving.
10. That has got to be the postman at the door.
 MOOD AND MODALITY

 In all of the examples above, modality has

been expressed by auxiliaries. This strategy
for communicating modality is periphrastic,
i.e., extra words are required.
 Mood markers, however, communicate
modality by inflectional endings or special
verb forms. The term "mood" simply refers to
a particular way of expressing modality.
 Imperative Mood
 The imperative is a very distinctive kind of directive.
 The most notable feature of the imperative is the absence of an overt
subject—Sit down; Be quiet; Give me some milk.
 We all "know" that the subject of the imperative is an understood you,
but how do we know it? The following sets of sentences supply the
evidence.
Yogi closed the door, didn't he? Sharon helped herself.
She closed the door, didn't she? They helped themselves.
They closed the door, didn't they? Harry helped himself.
Close the door, won't you? Help yourself.

Simon held his breath.

We all held our breath.
Susanna held her breath.
Hold your breath.
 The imperative has no tense distinctions; the
verbs always take the same form. The imperative
almost never co-occurs with the perfect and only
occasionally with the progressive —Be cleaning
your room when I get back.
 The passive often occurs in negative
imperatives Don't be alarmed by Noah's
appearance; Don't be upset by her remarks and
occasionally in affirmative imperatives—Be
assured that this procedure is correct; Be
forewarned that the road is impassable.
 Negative imperative - a semantically empty do
must be added, and not follows do—Do not be
angry; Don't be surprised by Ruth's attitude.
 The auxiliary do is also used in persuasive
affirmative imperatives—Do have some more candy;
Do sit down.
Semantically these constructions are offers rather
than orders, but they are still considered
imperatives.
 First Person Imperative. let's / let us. let's constructions
typically sound like suggestions rather than orders and
they direct the speaker as well as the hearer.
Let's eat Thai food tonight.
Let's go over to Joe's house.
Let us pray.

 The first person imperative does not require empty do in

creating a negative. The not simply follows let's (or us in
more formal discourse).
Let's not wake up the baby.
Let's not get crazy.
Let us not fall into bad practices.
 Imperatives with Overt Subjects - overt subjects
You be quiet
 You sit here is ambiguous out of context. It might be an
imperative or it might express a habitual action;
 There are also a very limited number of third person
imperatives; they require a subject pronoun with indefinite
reference.
Somebody close the window.
Nobody move!
Somebody hide the beer
 The first person imperative can also contain
an overt subject as long as the subject
includes both the speaker and the hearer(s).
Let's everyone keep calm.
Let's all of us agree to keep this a secret.
Let's you and I paint the kitchen this
weekend.
The Imperative in Discourse
 For giving explicit instructions or directions:
cookbooks, instruction labels, etc.
 In conversational situations: a speaker who has
social power will use more and stronger
imperatives than one who does not.
Teachers: Turn to page twenty three; Take out a
sheet of paper; Get rid of that chewing gum
Parents: Pick up your toys; Take out the
garbage; Stop bothering your brother, but kids
respond in kind at their peril.
 "Can I have some chocoloate?" vs. "Give me some
chocolate“ Could you loan me five dollars?

 There are, however, a few polite, formulaic expressions

that always take the standard imperative form:
Excuse me.
Forgive me.
Have a nice day.
Have a good time.
Pardon our dust. (A sign that always seems to
accompany commercial remodeling projects.)
 Subjunctive Mood

 To communicate non-facts, e.g.

wants, hopes, and hypothetical
situations.
 It is educated speakers who use it

most
 The modern subjunctive expresses a

variety of deontic meanings.

Mandative Subjunctive
 Latin root for mandate, "a command or order."
 The mandative subjunctive is a very distinct kind
of directive and it always takes the same form.
I suggest [that he leave].
I beg [that he return the money].
I demanded [that she give me her files].
We asked [that Marsha tell the truth].
Beth moved [that the meeting be adjourned].
I insist [that you be quiet].
I require [that term papers be turned in on time].
 demand, from very mild (ask/suggest) to very strong
(demand/insist).
 the direct object of the main verb is a clause and when the
subject of the clause is third person, its verb does not take third
person {-s} ending and be is in its infinitive form.
 The same meanings can be communicated by a verb in present
tense—We insist that Marsha tells the truth or by a modal
auxiliary—We insist that Marsha must tell the truth.
 Technically, these are not subjunctive utterances because they
lack subjunctive verb forms. All of these sentences are
directives, however.
Volitional Subjunctive
 Just as there are volitional modals, there are
volitional subjunctive constructions.
 I wish I were a bird; Joseph wishes he were a
cowboy.
 I wish I was a bird expresses exactly the same
meaning, but technically was is not a subjunctive
form. The subjunctive is gradually disappearing in
English and even highly educated speakers
sometimes use non-subjunctive forms in such
utterances.
Formulaic Subjunctive
 English has a small set of phrases and sayings that are so old
that they still contain uniquely marked subjunctive verbs. These
utterances are learned as whole pieces, often as part of religious
liturgy.
 The expression God bless - I hope that God blesses you.
The Lord make his face to shine upon thee ....
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done ....
 There are formulaic subjunctives that are less
tied to liturgy, but most still have a religious
cast.
God save the Queen.
Heaven forbid.
God be with you.
God help him.
Be that as it may.
Long live the King.
 Summary of modality markers

Construction Epistemic modality Deontic modality

Lexical verb I think that Mary I wish to leave now.

is coming.
Modal auxiliary Sue might be there. He should fix that
furnace.
Semi-auxiliary The baby is going You have to leave
to fall! now.

Imperative mood _____________ Eat your liver.

Somebody open that
door.
Subjunctive mood _____________ I demand that she
leave.
God bless you.