Lecture 9: Auxiliaries

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Lecture 9 Auxiliaries
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1. Classification of Auxiliaries

• As has been pointed out before, English verbs, in
  terms of their functions in forming verb phrases,
  fall into two major categories main verbs and
  auxiliaries.
• Auxiliaries can again be divided into primary
  auxiliaries, modal auxiliaries, and
  semi-auxiliaries.

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• It is generally acknowledged that English has 13
  modal auxiliaries (or "modals" for short). They
  are can, could, may, might, will, would, shall,
  should, must , ought to, dare, need, used to.

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2. Modals and modal meanings

• This section examines, in terms of semantics,
  modality and the English modals incorporating
  some related semi-auxiliaries.

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1) Ability and possibility

• The modals used in these senses arc cat, could,
  may, tight and be able to.
• a) To talk about "ability", we can use can,
  could, and be able to.
• He got so drunk that he couldn't / wasn't able to
  find the door.

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• b) To talk about "possibility", we can use may,
  might, can and could.
• Where can he be?He may be in the office.
• He may 'not go tomorrow. (prohibition)He 'may
  not go tomorrow. (impossibility)
• If you don't have a guide, you could lose your
  way.Can / Could the news Ix true?It can't /
  couldn't be true.

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2) Permission, and prohibition

• The modals used in these senses are can, could
  may and might.

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• a) To ask for permission, we can use can g could
  g may, might. Compared with can / could , tray /
  might sounds more formal compared with can /
  may, the past forms sound more polite, implying
  no difference in time reference. In colloquial
  English, can is very frequently used to ask for
  permission, eg
• Can I smoke in here? Could I use your phone?Yes,
  of course you can.In those days anyone might /
  could enroll for this course.

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• b) To refuse to give permission, we can use may
  not (with stress on not ) or cannot , eg
• Can I go out for' a moment?No, you can't.May I
  use your car for a few days?No, you may not.

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3) Obligation and necessity

• The modals used in these senses arc should, ought
  to, must and have to / have got to.

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• a) To talk about "obligation", we can use should,
  ought to and must. Used in this sense, these
  three modals vary slightly in tone.
• You should what your teachers tell you to.
• You should / ought to have asked permission first.

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• Must is even stronger than should, Used in the
  sense of obligation, must usually implies that
  speaker is the person in authority , the one who
  gives the orders, binding both on the listener
  and on the speaker himself eg
• You must be back by ten oclock.I really must
  stop smoking.

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• Obligation with future time reference is
  normally expressed by will / shall have to, eg
  
• Well have to do it again.
• As must has not a past form, obligation with
  past time reference is usually expressed by had
  to ,though in past time contexts, must can also
  be used to denote an obligation in the past , eg
• I had to leave at 630 yesterday.I told him that
  he must mind his own business.

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• Need not / neednt denotes absence of obligation
  or necessity, Alternative forms of neednt are
  dont need to , dont have to ,and havent
  got to with corresponding past forms didnt
  need to , and didnt have to ,eg
• A Must you leave so soon?B No, I neednt.He
  didnt need to do it at once.

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• b) Should and ought to can be used to denote
  assumptions arrived at by inference, not by
  direct experience, eg
• That should not be a difficult problem for
  Mary.These young trees ought to provide shade in
  ten years.
• Ought to in this sense is synonymous with must
  denoting necessity, while in questions and
  negative statements, can and cant should be used
  instead, eg
• You must have difficulty getting the
  tickets.You oughtnt to have any difficulty
  getting the tickets.

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4) Prediction and predictability

• The modals used in these censes are will, shall,
  would, should, ought to and must.

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• a) The shall / will future can be used for
  predicting. Although shall and, particularly,
  will, are the closest approximations to a pure
  future, they do not form a future tense
  comparable to the present and past tenses. Shall
  in the sense of future is restricted to the first
  person in Standard BrE, whereas will can be used
  in the same sense in all persons throughout the
  English speaking world.

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• b) The modals relating to predictability or
  assumption are will and would apart from should
  ,ought to and must . Predictability denoted by
  will and would can be classified into specific
  predictability, habitual predictability and
  timeless predictability.
• eg
• A Whos that man over there?B That will be
  George, no doubt.B That would be George, I
  expect.

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5) Willingness, intention and determination

• The modals used in these senses are will. Would
  and shall.

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• a. Will in the meaning of willingness or weak
  volition is found with subjects of all three
  persons. Will so used is normally unstressed and
  can be contracted to ll , eg
• I will / Ill lend you the money if you need
  it.Who will / wholl go with me?

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• Another type of weak volition is intention that
  can be expressed by will in all persons. Will in
  this sense is unstressed and is generally
  contracted to ll, eg
• Ill get some drinks. Whatll you have?He wont
  help me unless I accept his offer.
• Past intention can be expressed with would, eg
• He said he wouldnt have any cold drinks.

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6) Other modal meanings

• The modals dealt with here are should .would,
  dare, need and used to.

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• In specific contexts, should can denote emotional
  feelings of sorrow, joy displeasure, surprise,
  wonder, etc. Should in this sense is especially
  common in certain that-clauses, in rhetorical
  questions and in some idiomatic exclamations. eg
  
• Its unbelievable that he should have finished
  the work so soon.How should I know?That he
  should dare to attack me!

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• b ) Would can be used to make a tactful statement
  ,a polite request, and a tentative suggestion, eg
  
• It would be a shame to stop our work
  halfway.Would you like to stay here for the
  night?Wouldnt it be better for us to start off
  a little earlier tomorrow morning?

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• As a modal, dare (except in I dare say) is
  restricted to questions and negative statements.
  Modal dare commonly occurs in its present form.
  It may refer to present time as well as to past
  time. Likewise, darent, the negative form of
  dare, can also be used for both present and past
  time reference, eg
• I dare not go there.How dare he say such rude
  things about me?My brother went alone, but I
  darent.

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• Used to is commonly used to denote a past
  habitual action or an existence in the past. The
  use of this modal stresses the notion that the
  habit has been given up or the state no longer
  exists.
• He didnt use to smoke cigarettes. He usednt
  to smoke cigarettes.Didnt Maria use to be
  interested in the theatre?Usednt Maria to
  interested in the theatre?

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2. Epistemic and non-epistemic use of modals

• Epistemic modals
• modals non-epistemic use epistemic
  use
• can / could ability, permission
  possibility
• may / might permission
  possibility
• will / would volition
  predictability
• should / ought to obligation
  logical necessity
• must obligation
  logical necessity

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• 2) Syntactic features of epistemic modals
• The following five syntactic features are common
  to all epistemic modals
• a) All epistemic modals can combine with a
  perfective infinitive, eg
• You must have beers disappointed.
• b) All epistemic modals can combine with a
  progressive infinitive, eg
• He must be working late at the office.He must
  haw been working late at the office.
• c) All epistemic modals can be used in
  existential sentences, eg
• There must be some mistake.

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• d) All epistemic modals can combine with stative
  verbs, eg
• He must understand that we mean business.
• e) All epistemic modals can be used with an
  inanimate subject, eg
• It must be George.
• Not all these features arc shared by
  non-epistemic modals.

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• 3) Time reference of epistemic modals
• First, indirect speech, the modal statement is
  invariably made with present time reference,
  because judgments or deductions arc usually made
  at the moment of speaking, eg
• He might haw lost his way.He couldn't be still
  working at the office.
• Secondly, the time reference of the contents of
  the judgment or deduction is determined by the
  form of the infinitive that follows the modal.
  eg
• He must be calling tonight. I'm sure he is
  calling tonight.