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2018•English TodayRequires access

Taming English modals

Sergio Torres–Martínez

Open publisher page 24 citations

Abstract

In the present paper, I pursue a Construction Grammar (CxG) characterization of English modal auxiliaries (e.g.,can-could, must, have (got) to, should, ought to, need to, will-would) that seeks to add to established lexical approaches. It is argued that Construction Grammar (e.g., Goldberg, 1995, 2006; Tomasello, 2003) can successfully account for underlying modality patterns, the understanding of which can lead to distinct gains for both linguistics and second language acquisition research. To that end, some of the tenets of CxG are invoked.

About this research paper

What this paper is about

In the present paper, I pursue a Construction Grammar (CxG) characterization of English modal auxiliaries (e.g.,can-could, must, have (got) to, should, ought to, need to, will-would) that seeks to add to established lexical approaches. It is argued that Construction Grammar (e.g., Goldberg, 1995, 2006; Tomasello, 2003) can successfully account for underlying modality patterns, the understanding of which can lead to distinct gains for both linguistics and second language acquisition research. To that end, some of the tenets of CxG are invoked.

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OpenAlex reports 24 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

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Available abstract

In the present paper, I pursue a Construction Grammar (CxG) characterization of English modal auxiliaries (e.g.,can-could, must, have (got) to, should, ought to, need to, will-would) that seeks to add to established lexical approaches. It is argued that Construction Grammar (e.g., Goldberg, 1995, 2006; Tomasello, 2003) can successfully account for underlying modality patterns, the understanding of which can lead to distinct gains for both linguistics and second language acquisition research. To that end, some of the tenets of CxG are invoked.

Key concepts: Modal verb, Linguistics, Grammar, Modality (human–computer interaction), Modal, Construction grammar, Epistemic modality, Computer science

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