1 modal auxiliaries.ppt [read-only] have no non-finite forms or 3sg inflection. ... he has to give a...

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Li8 Lent term, week 1

Dr. Michelle SheehanNewcastle University

[email protected]

I. Diagnostics for auxiliaries (NICE)

II. Properties of modal auxiliaries

III. Complicated cases

IV. Modal semantics

V. Dialect variation

Li8 Lent term, week 1 2

� A small closed class of verbs that express grammatical meanings frequently expressed in other languages by verbal inflection (tense, mood, aspect, voice).

� Compare: J’iraiaiaiai (French) vs. I will will will will go (English)


� (Huddleston & Pullum 2002: 92-) NICE

a)a)a)a) NNNNegation

b)b)b)b) IIIInversion

c)c)c)c) CCCCode (under ellipsis)

d)d)d)d) EEEEmphasis


Auxiliary verbs precede negation, lexical verbs do not and require do-support:

(1) You should notnotnotnot leave the lion unattended.

(2) *You don’tn’tn’tn’t should leave the lion unattended.

(3) *You left notnotnotnot the lion unattended.

(4) You didn’tn’tn’tn’t leave the lion unattended.

� Auxiliaries have ‘contracted’ negated inflectional forms, some of which are irregular (e.g. won’t, can’t and shan’t) (cf. Zwicky & Pullum 1983)

� These appear in positions where verb + not is impossible (e.g. Won’t you stay? but *Will not you stay?).


Auxiliaries invert with a subject in certain syntactic contexts, lexical verbs do not (in PDE, but cf. Fischer et al. 2000: ch 4 on older varieties)

(5) Have you been away? [Y/N question]

(6) *Went you away?

(7) Did you go away

(8) Nowhere will you feel more comfortable.

(9) *Nowhere found I the answer.

(10) Nowhere did I find the answer. [Negative inversion]

Consider also wh-questions (constituent questions), only inversion & complementiserless conditional clauses.


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� Auxiliaries but not lexical verbs can be used as a ‘code’ under ellipsis, as in tag questions:

(11) You haven’t seen Mary, have you?

(12) You can speak French, can’tn’tn’tn’t you/can you notnotnotnot?

(13) *You saw Mary, sawn't you?

(14) You saw Mary, didn't you?


� Auxiliaries, unlike lexical verbs, can bear heavy stress for polarity emphasis.

(15) You don’t think I’ve done it, but I HAVE.

(16) *You don’t think I saw it, but I SAW.

(17) You don’t think I saw it, but I DID.

Nb. Lexical verbs can be contrastively stressed:

(18) I SAW your sandwich in the fridge, but I didn’t EAT it!


� They tend to precede frequency adverbs (often, usually, always) and modal adverbs (probably, possibly, certainly), unlike lexical verbs:

(19) I have always drunk pear juice.

(20) a. I always drank pear juice.

b. *I drank always pear juice.

� But, auxiliaries can sometimes follow these adverbs, particularly with emphatic polarity on the auxiliary:

� (21) I always HAVE drunk pear juice.


� Modals have no non-finite forms or 3SG inflection.

(22) She must/*musts finish her Li8 reading.

(23) a. no plain infinitive *I will cancancancan swim by the summer.

b. no to-infinitive *I want to may to may to may to may go the ball.

c. no present participle *I remember mustingmustingmustingmusting to clear away.

d. no past participle *We have mustedmustedmustedmusted leave already

Instead, periphrasis is used:

(24) I will be able be able be able be able to swim by the summer.

(25) I want to be allowed to be allowed to be allowed to be allowed to go to the ball.


� Modals (usually) take a bare plain infinitive as their complement (not a to-infinitive). Only a few lexical verbs (e.g. help, make) can take a bare infinitive as their complement.

(26) He must/could/will finish that display.

(27) *He wants/needs/plans finish the display.

(28) She helped (to) finish the display.


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� Modal or non-modal?

can, be, may, have, will, do, shall, use, must, ought, need, dare

Modal – can, may, will, shall, must, ought, need, dare

Non-modal - be, have, do, use


“ Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”

I. Need

II. Dare

III. Ought

IV. Used to

V. Have

VI. Do

VII. Be


(29)a. She need not / needn’t attend the class.

b. She need not / needn’t to attend the class.

c. She doesn’t need to attend the class.

d. She doesn’t need attend the class.

(30)a. Need she attend the class?

b. Need she to attend the class?

c. Needs she attend the class?

d. Needs she to attend the class?

(31)a Does she need to attend the class?

d. Does she need attend the class?

What doe they tell us about the status of need?


(29)a. She need not / needn’t attendattendattendattend the class.

b. *She need not / needn’t to attend the class.

c. She doesn’t need totototo attendattendattendattend the class.

d. *She doesn’t need attend the class.

(30)a. Need she attend the class?

b. *Need she totototo attend the class?

c. *NeedsNeedsNeedsNeeds she attend the class?

d. *NeedsNeedsNeedsNeeds she totototo attend the class?

(31)a Does she need to attend the class?

d. ??Does she need attend the class?

� Need (Aux) and need (V) appear to be two distinct lexical items.


� What about dare?

(32) She dare not / daren’t attend the class.

(33) Dare she attend the class? (cf. *Dares she attend the class?)

(34) She didn’t dare to attend the class.

(35) Did she dare to attend the class?

As with need, dare can be thought of as two distinct lexical items.

� However, there is some blurring of the distinction (see Huddleston & Pullum 2002: 110–11, Beths 1999).

(36) Did she dare attend the class?

(37) She didn’t dare attend the class.


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(38) a. You oughtn't to speak like that.

b. %You didn't ought to speak like that.

(39) a. Ought I to come along too?

b. %Did I ought to come along too?

(40) a. We ought to help, oughtn't we?

b. %We ought to help, didn't we?

� Two atypical properties:

� takes a to-infinitive complement

� variability between auxiliary-like and verb-like behaviour.

� Huddleston & Pullum regard the latter members of these pairs as nonstandard.


(41) %I usedn't to go there very often.

(42) I didn't use(d) to go there very often.

(43) %You used to go every week, usedn't you?

(44) You used to go every week, didn't you?

� Auxiliary use is now marginal, and, for most speakers, used to is a lexical verb:


� Dynamic have (We had a great time; causative I had my hair cut.) is always a lexical verb:

(45) *We hadn’t a very good time.

(46) We didn’t have a very good time.

� Aspectual have is always an auxiliary:

(47) We haven't seen it.

(48) *We don't have seen it.


Stative have (possessive have: I have a blue car; and obligation have: You have to fill in this form):

(49) %She hasn’t enough money.

(50) She doesn’t have enough money. (possessive have)

(51) %You haven’t to leave yet.

(52) You don’t have to leave yet. (obligation have)

� shows variability, with auxiliary-like behaviour possible in formal and northern varieties of British English:

� Have got can replace stative have but not dynamic or aspectual have (see H&P 2002: 112-3).


� Be behaves as an auxiliary, even when it is the only verb in the clause (copula be):

(53) Are you Sherlock Holmes?

(54) *Do you be Sherlock Holmes?

� Note, however, that there are a few lexical uses of be which allow do-support (usually limited by negation):

(55) Why don't you be more observant?

(56) If you don't be quick, you'll lose.


� Do is both a lexical verb and an auxiliary (in do-support environments):

(57) *Did you the washing up?

(58) Did you do the washing up? (lexical)

(59) Did you see the film?

(60) *Did you do see the film? (auxiliary)


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� Properties or dispositions:

(61) Lions can be dangerous.

(62) I can see something in the distance.

(63) I can speak French.


� DeonticDeonticDeonticDeontic (‘root’) modality = permission/obligation/prohibition

(64) You can speak French here if you want.

� EpistemicEpistemicEpistemicEpistemic modality = speaker’s level of commitment to the truth of the proposition

(65) That must be the postman.

i. You must be mad!

ii. We must make a stand!

iii. You must be tired, I want you to go to sleep now!

iv. You must be tired, you’ve been up all night.

v. John must be on time today, I just saw his bike pull in.

vi. John must be on time today, he has to give a presentation.


Strong necessity must, need

Medium should, ought

Weak possibility may, can


� The different modals take either wide or narrow scope w. r. t. negation (Huddleston & Pullum’s internal/external negation):

� You may not have read it. vs. You cannot have read it.

Poss (¬ P) ¬ Poss (P)

It is possible that you have not… It is not possible that you have

� The modals broadly form pairs with respect to the scope of negation:

� You mustn’t eat it all. You needn’t eat it all.

Nec (¬ P) ¬ Nec (P)

� May behaves likes can under a deontic reading, and deontic Poss (¬ P) is difficult to express:

(66) ??You may not attend the lecture if you don’t want to.


� Modals can take wide or narrow scope w.r.t. perfective have:

(67) She must have saved him.

‘It must be the case that she has saved him.’ (epistemic prob>perf)

(68) She could have saved him if she’d tried.

‘She had the possibility of saving him.’ (perf> deontic poss)

� Contrast German, which expresses the semantic scope directly:

(69) Sie hätte ihn retten können,

she have.PAST.SUBJ.3S him save.INF can.INF

wenn sie gewollt hätte.

if she want.PAST.PART have.PAST.SUBJ.3S

‘She could have saved him, if she wanted.’ (perf> deontic poss)


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� Not all modals are available in all varieties:

� loss of shall

� replacement of may by might

� loss of must in deontic contexts (You must work harder > You've got to work harder)

� Many varieties of English (Scots, Northeast England, Southern US) allow double modals:

(70) She might can get away early. (Scots, Miller 1993)

(71) The girls usually make me some but they mustn’t could have made any today. (Northumberland, Beal 1993)

Also to-infinitives in some varieties:

(72) I’d like to could do that. (Scots, Miller 1993)


� Background reading: Haegeman & Gueron 1998: 287-330

� See the course website for general reading and supervision questions and references (www.ling.cam.ac.uk/Li8)

� Next week, more on auxiliaries…


1 modal auxiliaries.ppt [read-only] have no non-finite forms or 3sg inflection. ... he has to give a...

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