Unit14AuxiliariesContents1.Whatfunctionaremodalsusedtoplay?2.Checkyourunderstandingofthetext3.Keypointsforyourintensivereadingofthetext1.1ThefunctionofmodalsModality:speaker’sattitudetofactualityoractualization;necessityandpossibilitytodifferentdegrees.Denotic:necessity(i.e.obligation)vs.possibility(i.e.permission)Epistemic:necessityvs.possibilityDynamicmodality:e.g.ability1.2linguisticresourcestoexpressmodalityLexicalmodalsrefertothosewordsotherthanmodalauxiliariesthatcanexpressthesamekindofmeaningasthemodalauxiliaries,covering:ModalauxiliariesLexicalmodalsAdjectiveslike:possible,necessary,likely,probable,bound,etc.Adverbslike:perhapspossibly,necessarily,probably,certainly,surely,etc.verbslike:insist,permit,require,etc.Nounslike:possibility,necessity,permission,etc.PasttenseCompare:a.Ifyoudothatagainyouwillbefired.b.Ifyoudidthatagainyouwouldbefired.InfinitiveCompare:a.He’stheonetodothejob.b.He’stheonedoingthejob.a’.He’sonewhoshoulddothejob.b’.He’sonewhohasdone/didthejob.Fromthiswecanseethatitisnotfortuitousthatthemodalauxiliariesthemselvestakeinfinitivalcomplements,notv-ings.Lexical+syntacticalresourcesCompare:a.Heisill.b.I/Theythinkheisill.What’sthedifferencebetweenthesentences?Moreoftenthannot,differentresourcesarecombinedtoexpressmodality.In(a)lexical(insist)andauxiliary(must)areusedinaharmoniousway.Thesameistruewith(b).Thedifferencebetweenthetwosentenceisamatterofstrength:(a)isstrong(necessity);(b)isweak(possibility).a.Heinsistedthatmustbelying.b.Isuggestthathemaybelying.What’sthedifferencebetweenthesentences?In(a)themodalauxiliaryisinharmonywiththemodalmeaningexpressedbytheadverb(lexicalmodal‘surely’),whilein(b)theyareincontradiction.Thatis,in(b)‘may’(whichisrelativelyweakinmodality)andsurely(strong)expressindependentmodalmeanings.Themeaningofthisnon-harmoniccombinationis‘Surelyitispossiblethatitwasanaccident’,with‘possible’insidethescopeof‘surely’.a.Itmustsurelyhavebeenanaccident.b.Itmaysurelyhavebeenanaccident.2.CheckyourunderstandingofthetextItisgenerallyacknowledgedthatEnglishhas14modalauxiliaries(or“modals”forshort).Semi-auxiliariesconstituteacategoryofverbsbetweenauxiliariesproperandmainverbs.Syntactically,modalscanonlybetheinitialelementofafiniteverbphraseandareinvariablyfollowedbyabareinfinitive.TTTMostmodalsarepolysemous,andtheybehavedifferentlyinaffirmative,negative,andinterrogativesentences.Intermsofthemeaningsthemodalsexpress,modalscanbedividedintotwocategories:epistemicandnon-epistemic.TTFillthefollowingtablemodalsNon-epistemicuseEpistemicusecan/couldmay/mightwill/wouldshould/oughttomustpredictabilityobligationVolition,intentionpermissionpossibilityobligationlogicalnecessitylogicalnecessityPermission,abilitypossibility3.KeypointsforyourintensivereadingofthetextAbilityPossibilityPermissionandprohibitionObligationandnecessityPredictionandpredictabilityWillingness,intentionanddeterminationOthermodalmeaningsWarning!“Itisadifficultmattertodecidehowmanydifferentsensesshouldberecognizedforagivenmodalauxiliary”CGEL.2002:1773.1Ability:can,could,beabletoTheofficewasclosedtoday,soIcoulddothingsthatneededtobedoneathome.Whenwewanttosaythatsomeonehadtheabilityoropportunitytodosomethinginaparticularsituationwhichresultedinanaction,weuse“was/wereableto”ratherthan“could”.Seep.192WRightorwrong?Andwhy?Rightorwrong?Andwhy?WhenIopenedthedoor,Iwasabletosmellgas.?Inparticularsituations,weusuallyuse“can”or“could”not“beableto”withstativeverbssuchas“see,hear,smell,taste,feel,understand”,and“remember”.Rightorwrong?Andwhy?Hecanwalkafterhislegheals.WWhenwetalkaboutafutureabilitythatwedonothaveinthepresent,weuse“willbeableto”ratherthan“can”.FillintheblanksandhavefunMyfather_______liftapigwithonehand._______yourdaddothat?I’mnotsure.Wheredoyougetapigwithonehand?canCan3.2Possibility:may,might,can,couldRightorwrong?Andwhy?Hemayn’tbethereyet.He‘maynotbethereyet./Hecan’tbethereyet.Wedonotcontractmaynotormightnotwhentheyexpresspossibility;since“maynot”isambiguousinwrittenform,can’tismorefrequentlyused.WFillintheblanks______thenewsbetrue?Yes,it____________betrue.No,it______betrue.Canmay/can/mightcan’tMay/mightinthesenseofpossibilityoccursonlyinstatements,whereasinquestionscan/couldisusedinstead;whenreferringtothepresentimpossibilitycan’tispreferredespeciallyinwrittenform.Permissionorpossibility?Someofthesedisciplines(學科)maynotasyetbeinapositiontogivehardevidence;neurology(神經(jīng)科學)maynotbeabletoshowclearlyhoworwherelanguageisstoredphysicallyinthebrain:inprincipleithasrelevantevidencetocontributeandmayindeeddosooneday.V.J.Cook&M.Newson,Chomsky’sUniversalGrammar:AnIntroduction,2007:36.Whichisbetter?Andwhy?MrReedisinpoorhealth.He___(can/may)beillatanytime.MrReedlookspaletoday.He___(can/may)beill.Inpositivestatements,canusuallyexpresses“theoreticalpossibility”,whilemayexpresses“factualpossibility”.ParaphrasethefollowingsentencesHemaynothavereadit.Hecan’thavereadit.Hecan’tnothavereadit.Itispossiblethathedidn’treadit.Itisnotpossiblethathereadit.Itisnotpossiblethathedidn’treadit.Internalnegationexternalnegationexternal+internalnegationTrueorfalse?“Can”and“could”inthesenseof“possibility”areinterchangeablewithnodifferenceintimereference.Onlytheuseof“could”suggestsgreateruncertaintyand,therefore,soundsmorepolite.Buttheuseof“can”isusuallyrestrictedtonegativestatementsandquestions.T3.3Permissionandprohibition:can,could,may,mightTrueorfalse?Weusemay,might,

could,andcantoaskpermission.Weusemayorcouldwithpeoplewedonotknoworwhoareinauthority.Wecanusecouldinanysituation.Weusecanwithfriendsandfamilymembers.TWhenmakeapoliterequest,weusecouldormight,butwenormallyusecanandmayratherthancouldormighttogivepermissioninthepresenttimecontexts.TThepastformofmaynot(inthesenseofrefusaltogivepermission)isnotmightnot.Thenotionofrefusingtogivepermissioninthepastisusuallyexpressedbyotherforms.TCompareBorrowerscannottakeoutofthelibrarymorethantwobooksatatime.Borrowersmaynottakeoutofthelibrarymorethantwobooksatatime.Maynotismoreimpersonalintone.Thatis,itindicateswhatisnotpermittedbyrulesorregulationsratherthanthespeakerhimself.MakeanintelligentchoiceandhavefunM:Tommy,yourfathersaysyoubrokethekitchenwindowwithyourfootball.____(Is/Was)thistrue?S:Yes,mum,butit___(is/was)anaccident.M:___(Could/Can/May/Might)youtellmewhatyourfathersaidtoyou?S:___(Could/Can/May/Might)Ileaveouttheswearwords?M:Ofcourse.S:Wellthen,hedidn’tsayanything.Inwhatway‘may’isused?Uselexicalmodalitytoparaphraseit.OnagreybutbrightandmuggydayincentralLondon–nosignduringthemorningoftheshowersthathadthreatenedtobreakthemonth'shotweather–policeestimatedthatuptoamillionpeoplecongregated,halfofthemintheMall.Incontrasttohowpolicecountdemonstrations,thatmayhavebeenanoverestimate,buttherewerecertainlymanythousands.Intheonlyslightsignoftrouble,asmallgroupofprotestersgatheringinSohoSquaretoputonmaskswerepre-emptivelystalledwithoutgettingnear.http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/apr/29/royal-wedding-kate-middleton-william3.4Obligationandnecessity:should,oughtto,must,haveto/havegottoTrueorfalse?Shouldandoughttoareusedtoadviseorurge.Thesetwomodalsareinterchangeableinmostcases.Thereis,however,averyslightdifference:Shouldisusedwhenwegiveourownobjectiveopinion,oughttohasarathermoresubjectiveforce.Consequently,oughtto,ratherthanshould,isusedtogivestrongadvice.FUsedinthesenseof“obligation”,“must”isevenstrongerthan“should”;itusuallyimpliesthatthespeakeristhepersoninauthority,theonewhogivestheorders,bindingbothonthelistenerandonthespeakerhimself.T“Must”expressesastrongobligationandwedonotoftenuseitinface-to-faceconversationasitseemsimpoliteandofteninappropriate.T3.5Predictionandpredictability:will,shall,would,should,oughtto,mustTrueorfalse?Whenusedinthesenseofprediction,“shall”inthesenseoffutureisrestrictedtothefirstpersoninStandardBrE,whereas“will”canbeusedinthesamesenseinallpersonsthroughouttheEnglishspeakingworld.Predictabilitydenotedby“will”and“would”canbeclassifiedintospecificpredictability,habitualpredictabilityandtimelesspredictability.TTRightorwrong?Andwhy?Thereshouldbeproblemswithtrafficatthattime.Theroadsshouldbeawful.WThere’llbeproblemswithtrafficatthattime.Theroadswillbeawful.Werarelyuseshould

to“predict”anegative(unpleasant)situation.Insteadweusewill.Whichisbetter?Andwhy?He___(should/must)havereachedYorkbynow,butPathasrungtosayhehasn’t.Whenusedtodenoteprobability,“should”and“oughtto”aresaidtobe‘non-factive’,thatisnotbinding,asopposedto“will”and“must”whichare“factive”orbinding.Thus,whenusedwithpasttimereference,theformercanbecontradictedbythespeaker,whilethelattercannot.MakeanintelligentchoiceandhavefunExcuseme.Arethereanypolicemenaroundhere?You___(will/must/should)bejoking!Youcanneverfindapolicemanwhenyouneedone.(seep.198)Great!NowgivemeallyourmoneyorI’llshootyou.Everencounteredsuchawording?Whoknowswhatkindofworldtheythoughttheyendedupwith,butstrictlyspeakingitwasdevoidofmeaning,justas,inHume'sterms(onthebasisofthelogicaldistinctionbetween"is"propositionsand"ought"propositions),itwasnecessarilydevoidofvalue.3.6Willingness:will,would,shallFillintheblankwithanappropriateformandgiveyourreasonsWouldyoulendmeyourpenaminute?Certainly,I______(will/would).Inanswertoahypotheticalrequestwenormallyusethecorrespondingnon-hypotheticalform.Isthefollowingsentenceacceptableornot?

Youshallstaywithusaslongasyoulike.Canyouparaphraseit?Iamwillingtoletyoustayaslongasyoulike.Thatistosay,whenusedwiththesecondorthirdsubject,theunstressed“shall”indicates“willingness”onthepartofthespeakerratherthanthatofthesubject.3.7Intention:will,would,shallTrueorfalse?Withthe1stpersonsubjects,“shall”maybeusedtoexpressintentiononthepartofthespeaker,butinconversationalstyle“will”ispreferredinstead.In“ShallI/we”questions,itisspeaker’s,ratherthanthelistener’sintentionthatisconsulted.“Shall”israreinAmE,exceptinlegaldocuments.Evenin“ShallI/we”questions,“should”ispreferredinstead.TFTParaphrasethefollowingsentences

Youshallgetapromotion.I’llgiveyouapromotion.Heshan’tcomehere.Iwon’tlethimcomehere.3.8Determination:will,would,shallTrueorfalse?Incontrasttovolitionandintention,determinationorinsistence(alsoreferredtoasstrongvolition),isexpressedbystressed“will”,whichcannotbecontractedto“’ll”butcanbeusedinallpersons.TParaphrasethefollowingsentencesYou‘shallobeymyorders.Iinsistthatyouobeymyorders.Noone‘shallstopme.Idon’tallowanyonetostopme.MakeanintelligentchoiceandhavefunIt’s40℃outthere.We___(will/aregoingto)needanair-conditionedcoachtotaketheteamtothestadium.We____(mustn’t/don’thaveto)spendextramoneyonanair-conditionedcoach.Anordinarycoachwillbefine.Butwon’titbetoohotfortheplayers?Don’tworry.We____(will/must)havethirtyfanstravelingwithus!3.9OthermodalmeaningsCanyouidentifythedifferentusesof“should”inthefollowingsentences?It’sunbelievablethatheshouldbeworkingsohard.HowshouldIknow?Thatheshoulddaretoattackme!Iinsistedthatheshouldgowithme.Heranawaylestheshouldbefoundbypeople.Ishouldsayheisjusttherightmanforthejob.Thesimilarity&differencebetween“usedto”and“would”Compare:a.Whenwewerechildren,weusedto/wouldgoskatingeverywinter.b.Whenwewerechildren,weusedto/*wouldbeinterestedinskating.“Usedto”and“would”canbothbeusedtodenoteapasthabitandareinterchangeableinmanycases,but“would”canonlycombinewithdynamicverbs,while“usedto”withbothdynamicandstativeverbs.

Whichiscorrectandwhy?France____(usedto/would)beamonarchybutnowit’sarepublic.Thedifferencebetween“usedto”and“would”atthetextuallevelThebadthingwasthey___(usedto/would)laughatus,theAnglokids.They___(usedto/would)laughbecausewe___(usedto/would)bringtortillasandfrijolestolunch.They___(usedto/would)havetheirnicelittlecompactlunchboxeswithcoldmilkintheirthermosandthey___(usedto/would)laughatusbecauseallwehadwasdriedtortillas.Notonly___(usedto/would)theylaughatus,butthekids___(usedto/would)pickfights.Thedifferencebetween“usedto”and“would”atthetextuallevelSomegrammarianshavenoticedthatthetemporallymoreexplicit“usedto”tendstomarkanepisodeboundaryorsetupaframeforapasthabitualevents,whereasthemorecontingentform“would”or“’-d”suppliesdetailsorelaboratesthetopic,withthesimplepastalsooccurringasanalternativeto“would”.Intheaboveexample,inwhichthespeakeriscomplainingaboutthediscriminationhefacedasachildintheUnitedStates,“usedto”setstheframe,andthedetailsaresuppliedwith“would”.(Larsen-Freeman,2005:73)RevisionModalsareusedtodenotetwodifferentkindsattitudetowardstheevent.Oneattitudeisthatofassessingthetruthofthepropositionorthepotentialoccurrenceoftheeventintermsofmodalcertainty,probabilityorpossibility.Thisisepistemicmodalityasin“Hemustbeverycareless.”Adifferentkindofattitudeisexpressedwhenspeakersinterveneinthespeechevent,bylayingdownobligationsorgivingpermission.Thisisdeonticmodalityasin“Youmustgonow.”TSupplythemodalverbwhichcorrespondstotheparaphraseineachcase.Insomecasesmorethanoneformisacceptable.I_________________letyouknowassoonasIhaveanynews.(intention,promise)We_________________getawayuntiltheendofAugust.(Itwillnotbepossibleforustogetaway.)There_________________besomethingburning.Icansmellit.(Itisnecessarilythecasethat…)Thebanks_________________beclosedatthistimeofday.(prediction)You_________________haveforgottenyourhousekeys!(It’spossiblethatyouhaveforgotten.)will/shall/’llcan’t/won’tbeabletomustwillcan’tThis12-canpackofbeer_________________beenough.(probability,reasonableinference)Becauseofthiswideexperience,he_________________tofindanacceptablesolution.(ability,past)Thatyoungman_________________beournextPrimeMinister.(Itispossiblethat…)You_________________notfeedtheanimalsatthezoo.(Youareundertheobligationnotto…)(AngelaDowning&PhilipLocke,2006:397)shouldwasabletomight/couldmustChoosethebestanswerThefollowingsyntacticfeaturesarecommontoallepistemicmodalsexcept___.Allepistemicmodalscancombinewithaprogressiveinfinitiveoraperfectiveinfinitive.Allepistemicmodalscanbeusedinexistentialsentences.Allepistemicmodalsalwayshaveapresenttimereference.Allepistemicmodalscancombinewithstativeverbsandaninanimatesubject.CTrueorfalse?Andwhy?Indirectspeech,themodalstatementisinvariablymadewithpresenttimereference,becausejudgmentsordeductionsareusuallymadeatthemomentofspeaking.Thetimereferenceofthecontentsofthejudgmentordeductionisdeterminedbytheformoftheinfinitivethatfollowsthemodal.Whentheinfinitiveisinthesimpleorprogressiveform,itusuallyreferstothefuturetime;iftheinfinitivetakestheperfectiveform,itreferstopasttime.TF4Trueorfalse?Andwhy?Structurally,semi-auxiliariesfallintothreetypes:onetypeisinitiatedwiththeverb“be”;asecondtypeisinitiatedwiththeverb“have”;thethirdtypeisinitiatedwiththeverb“seem,chance,happen,appear”,etc.Syn