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12 - Covert Patterns of Modality

from IV - Covert Modality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2021

Werner Abraham
Werner Abraham
Affiliation:
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
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Summary

Be/have+v trigger covert modality in root (but not epistemic) terms: necessity and probability. They do this in several distributional forms the main being subject relative infinitives and object relative infinitives. In addition. Gerundial forms as substitutes for the infinitive enter the modal construction in german. As epistemic readings of xp is to v and xp has to v are excluded, the nonfinite epis-temic gap hypothesis is taken up again and brought (again) to a conclusion: the non-finite status of complements does not lend itself for epistemic readings.

Keywords

nonfinite epistemic gapobject infinitive decausative intransitive Vobject relative infinitivesubject relative infinitivesubject relative purpose infinitive after directionalsubject raising infinitivalsubject raising infinitive on intransitive V
Type
Chapter
Information
Modality in Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics , pp. 333 - 380
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Covert Patterns of Modality
  • Werner Abraham, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
  • Book: Modality in Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics
  • Online publication: 06 February 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139108676.014
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  • Covert Patterns of Modality
  • Werner Abraham, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
  • Book: Modality in Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics
  • Online publication: 06 February 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139108676.014
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Covert Patterns of Modality
  • Werner Abraham, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
  • Book: Modality in Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics
  • Online publication: 06 February 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139108676.014
Available formats
×