LIN020L007A Syntax and MorphologyTahmina HaqueModal VerbsA mo.docx

LIN020L007A Syntax and Morphology
Tahmina Haque Modal VerbsA modal verb, also
known as a modal auxiliary, is a type of auxiliary verb that is
used to indicate modality. In 'Understanding English Grammar'
Payne defines modality as a complex conceptual domain. Many
researchers have written on defining auxiliarihood and modaity
( Palmer 1986; Nagle 1989; Heine 1993). There is no correct
way to define modality because of its highly distinctive and
variable feature. Palmer (1986: 4) tries to explain the
reason:'The real problem with modality is just not that there is
great variation in meaning across languages but that there is no
clear basic feature.' Modality is not only marked by modal
verbs, it is also marked by mood and by particle and clitics. All
these together make the syntax and semantics of modality one of
the biggest problem for grammatical analysis.In this essay
English modal verbs and their general characteristics are
brought together followed by their complex effect in the
language in terms of meanings and their general use in
communication. Modal verbs are members of a large set of
auxiliary verbs which have some common characteristics. Below
is a table listing the modal verbs and their classification ( Quirk
et al. 1985: 137):Class of verbsExamples CENTRAL
MODALSMARGINAL MODALSMODAL IDIOMSSEMI-
AUXILIARIES can, could, may, might, must, shall, should,
will, woulddare, need, ought to, used tohad better, would rather/
sooner, BE to, HAVE got to, etc
Have to, BE about to, BE able to, BE going to, BE likely to,
BE supposed to, BE obliged to, BE supposed to, BE willing to,
etcMorphological and syntactic characteristics of modal
verbs:The modal verbs have been classified according to their
morphological and syntactical characteristics. Below are some
characteristics of the central modals verbs :Takes bare
infinitiveTakes negation directly Takes inversion without DO
'Code' EmphasisNo -s form for third-person singular No non-

finite formNo co-occurrence Abnormal time refercenceThey
have no imperativeThere are suppletive negative formI can
go.can't, mustn'tcan I? must I?I can swim and so can you..She
COULD finish that*cans, *musts*to can, *musting*may will
You COULD leave this evening. (not past time)*Must come
now!Ayesha must be there → Ayesha needn't be there. The
table below shows central modal verbs also take a
morphologically past form :Present tensePast tenseCanFarhana
can study all night.WillAyesha knows he will help herShallI
know I shall help the kidsMayI know the students may need
help.CouldFarhana could study all night.WouldAyesha knew he
would help her.ShouldI knew I should help the kids.MightI
knew the students might need helpThe past form of the verbs
might, would, could, should are also used as different modal
verbs with different meanings. 'Must' do not have a
morphological past form. Syntactical change takes place to
express past time:I must finish my syntax and morphology
assignment (present)I must have finished syntax and
morphology assignment (past)Marginal ModalsDare, need, used
to and ought to display some but not all of the properties of the
central modal verbs. For example, dare and need take a bare
infinitivecomplement in negated and/or inverted structures:
daren't you ask?
You needn't go every morning.
Dare I suggest that that is last opportunity?
As a marginal modal verb 'need' has no past tense: *He needed
go there.'Used to' occurs only in the past tense form. 'Ought to'
and 'used to' do not take inversion without 'DO ':* Used to I ?*
Ought to I?Modal idioms do not take negation directly :* I
hadn't better go to the bank now.Semi-modalsSemi modals are
recent addition to the modal verbs after a process of
grammaticalization. They do not have all the characteristics of
the primary modals. Unlike the primary modals, the semi-
auxiliaries may come together to make a long string of

verbs:He seems to be going to have to keep on doing these
exercises.
I am likely to be about to start working on my assignment.Most
of the semi modals can be marked for tense and persons :He has
to close the shop → He had to close the shop. (tense)He was
able to jump of the bridge → They were able to jump off the
bridge. ( person)Modal verbs can appear in the dependent clause
of complex sentences : He requested that they should arrive
early ( clausal object)I did it so that they should come. (Oblique
clause)It is essential that they should come (clausal subject)It
is likely that they will come (clausal subject)Function of modal
verbs:Modal verbs are very common in conversation and written
language. They indicate two kinds of modality:Epistemic
modality: Epistemic modality (from Greek word 'επιστημική'
meaning knowledge) is concerned with speaker's perception,
knowledge, belief as to how real the situation is. A speaker can
at least four different ways show that he is not sure of his
assertion:1. by speculating2. by showing he is presenting it as a
deduction3. that he has been told about it4. that his assertion is
based on the evidence of senses.Deontic modality: 'Deontic'
comes from the Greek word 'δεω', means 'bind', 'need' .
Deontic modality expresses obligation, permission or debt to
do something. It is concerned with the expression by the
speaker of his attitude towards possible actions by himself and/
or others.Below are some of the modal verbs showing epistemic
and deontic modality: Deontic
ModalityPermissionYou can leave the classroom now.You may
go nowSuggestionYou could see a movie or go out to
dinner.You might visit the botanical gardens during your
visit. We can meet tomorrow.insistenceYou must stop bringing
flowers.You'd better clean that mess right now!She has to take
the application from the central office .
I would rather starve than eat your bread.Obligation (weak/
strong)They have to leave earlyI really should be in the office
by 7:00 AMI have got to be at work by 8:30 AM.
I'm supposed to cook for the children.

I'm not obliged to pay for that fee.
I have to present in the staff meeting.
The students are to study hard to do good in their exam.
Certainty This answer has to be correct.This must be the right
address! Advice/ recommendation/suggestion When you go to
Berlin, you should visit the palaces in PotsdamYou had better
take your umbrella with you today. You ought to stop smoking.
You've got to be strong for your kids.
orderYou'll leave the classroom at six.You must not leave the
class.Can you come here a minute, please?
Epistemic ModalityPossibilityExtreme rain could cause the
river to flood the city. Any child can grow up to be a president.
Your watch might be in the living room. Saa'd may be at home,
or perhaps at work.
ProbabilityThis stock ought to increase in value. They should be
here by noon.
He is likely to be late.PredictionIt will rain tomorrowThere is
somebody coming. That'll be Peter.AbilityI can ride a horse.
Nancy could ski like a pro by the age of 11.
I'm able to sleep through the night.ConditionalIf he were an
actor, he would be in adventure movies. We could go on the trip
if I didn't have to work this weekend. If I finish my assignment
tonight, I'll watch a movie.If I didn't have to work, I might go
with you. AssumptionThey must be in the beach by now.That
ought to be her car.Most primary modal verbs have both
epistemic and deontic functions:Modal
verbsCanCouldMayMightMustShould WouldShall willHe can
fly planes. ( deontic)That can indeed help. (epistemic)Farhana
could run fast before. ( deontic)We could go out to watch a
movie. (epistemic)May I come in? ( deontic)He may jump off
the bridge. (epistemic)You might just send her a card. (
deontic)I might not go to university tomorrow.
(epistemic)Zayed must go to school. ( deontic)Ayesha must be
in Manchester by now. (epistemic)We should abide by the law. (
deontic)That should surprise her. (epistemic)He would be happy
to have the kitten. (epistemic)You shall go to the shop. (

deontic)One day I shall be a politician. (epistemic)I'll go to the
party ( deontic)That will be the ice-cream van. (epistemic)The
effect of modal verbs on the meaningBy definition every modal
verb is different but because of their same morphological and
syntactic structure, they might be interpreted either
epistemically or deontically in a sentence. For example, the
sentence below expresses both epistemic and deontic modality
by modal verb 'may': 1. Zayed may climb up the hill. { he is
permitted (deontic) / perhaps he will (epistemic)}Another
example: 2. Ayesha must be in school.{she is obliged to be
(deontic) / I believe she is (epistemic)}Not all modal verbs
follow all the rules of negation. The negative form 'must not'
means 'necessary not' instead of meaning 'not necessary'.
Therefore, in the sentence no.2 above, expression showing
epistemic modality can not just use 'not' to make the meaning
negative. Using 'must not' to negates the sentence no. 2 only
works with deontic expression:2. Ayesha mustn't be in school.
{(she is obliged not to be) deontic/ no epistemic modality }A
suppletive negative form has to be used to make the proposition
negative: Ayesha can't be in school. {( I believe she is not)
epistemic}Also in the In the following example normal negation
gives out a wrong message:The child must climb down the
stairs. ( There is a necessity for the child to come down the
stairs)The negation should show that there is no necessity for
the child to come down the stairs. But adding 'not' do not do
that: The child musn't come down the stairs. (There is a
necessity for the child not to come down the stairs)A suppletive
negative form has to be used to make the proposition
negative:The child needn't come down the stairs. ( There is no
necessity for the child to come down the stairs) Another
distinction is that 'not' negates deontic 'may' only:The criminal
may be seated.The criminal may not be seated ( deontic)In
epistemic the verb followed by the modal verb gets negated:
She may want to sell the shop. She may not want to sell the
shop.

' Might' and 'should have' only show past form in epistemic
modality. For example:
Extensive reading may work → Extensive reading might work.
(epistemic)
They should be there by 5 pm → They should have been there
by 5 pm. (epistemic)
Another difference is that, in deontic modality 'may' and 'can'
be substituted with each other without changing meaning but
not in epistemic modality . For example:
May I come in? (asking permission)
Can I come in? (asking permission)
May I use your bathroom? (asking permission)
Can I use your bathroom? (asking permission)On the other
hand replacing epistemic 'can' by 'may' or vice versa changes
the sentence semantically. For example:I can ride a horse.
(ability)I may ride a horse. ( possibility)May and must followed
by 'have' are always epistemic:You may have read the new.
(possibility)You must have noticed the sign. (assumption)When
'must' is used to show an action in the future, modality is almost
always deontic. Below are some examples:They must come
tomorrow.Sawdah must see me next Monday.Modal verbs are
the result of grammaticalization process, a process in which
lexical items change their semantic and syntactic features. This
process is ongoing and more and more modal verbs are
emerging. Modal verbs are very common in conversation and
writing. They are very important in communication in English.
It is essential for an English language learner to learn and be
up-to-date with these modal verbs to communicate effectively.
Bibliography:
Payne, T.E. (2011)Understanding English Grammar CUP
Leech, G (1987) Meaning and the English Verb (2nd edition.)
London: Longman
Palmer, F (2001) Mood and Modality (2nd edition.) Cambridge:
CUP

Krug, G.M (1966) Emerging English Modals: a corpus based
study of grammaticalization
New York : Mouton de Gruyter 2000
1
Syntax and Morphology: Assignment 1
The Plain English Campaign's mission is to convince the
government organisations to use easy to read English in their
documents and correspondences. They want the language to be
written keeping the reader' ability to process information
comfortably in mind. Below is a morphological and syntactical
analytical comparison between the texts written by some
organisations and the modified versions by the Plain English
Campaign.
Morphological Complexity
The both groups use the three types of lexical expression, for
example:
are ( strong suppletion)
can (weak suppletion) and
read ( isomorphism).
They do not have much difference in the number of verbs used
either. They both have inflected and derived forms of words.
However, an analysis shows that there is a significant difference
in the way they use derived forms .The use of inflected words
also differs. Below are all the inflected and derived words from

the both groups:
Pair 1
inflectional
derivational
Before
environments
Free Root : Learning, precondition, enhancement, ongoing
Bound root : Facilitation
After
Schools
Free root: properly
Pair 2
inflectional
derivational
Before
Points, particulars, details, required
Free root : additional, telephone
Bound root : Explanation
After
questions
Pair 3

inflectional
derivational
Before
Notes, detailed, sections, provided, its
Free root: Information, compound root: overleaf
Bound root: Opposite
After
Notes, provided
Bound root: Opposite,
Pair 4
inflectional
derivational
Before
Posters, leaflets, rights, gives, displayed, issued, bodies,
libraries, items, excluded, considered
Free root: supplementary, , information,
Bound root: security, disputatious Entrance, central,
authoritativeness
After
Posters
Bound root: Permission, entrance, compound root: anyone
The tables above show that the 'before' groups contain many
derived forms than the 'after' groups. As the sentences are
longer and contain more words , the number of agglutinative
inflected forms, for example, 'excluded', 'considered' etc. where
a bound morpheme attaches to the end of a word to create a
different form of the word, is higher in 'before' group.

The use of modal verb 'shall', instead of 'will' to show
authoritativeness is another morphological characteristic of the
'before' group:
We [shall] be glad to furnish such additional details .. (pair 1)
It is important that you [shall] read the notes, advice and
information detailed opposite. (pair 2)
Phrase and Sentence Complexity
A characteristic that affects immensely a reader's ability to read
is how the hard-to-read group constructs their sentences. By
definition a complex sentence consists of one independent
clause and one or more dependent clauses. An analysis of the
texts shows that it is not the complex sentences that make the
texts difficult ; it is the complexity of the internal syntactic
construction and distribution of dependant clauses that may
create high degree of complexity in sentences and affects
readability. For example :
[Children need good schools]i [if they are to learn properly]d.
The above sentence from the Plain English group of pair (1) is
defined as a complex sentence but easy to read. On the other
hand, the text below is also made up of complex sentences but
its distribution of clauses has made the text difficult to read:
[Your enquiry about the use of the entrance area at the library
for the purpose of displaying posters and leaflets about Welfare
and Supplementary Benefit rights, gives rise to the question of
the provenance and authoritativeness of the material]S1 [to be
displayed]Relative clause. [Posters and leaflets [ issued by the
Central Office of Information, the Department of Health and
Social Security and other authoritative bodies]Relative clause

are usually displayed in libraries,]S1 but [items of a
disputatious or polemic kind, [whilst not necessarily
excluded,]Relative clause are considered individually]S1.
Complexity is clearly seen in the second sentence where two
matrix clauses are connected together by a coordinating
conjunction 'but'. Each matrix clause also contains a relative
clause which is embedded into the main clause. What makes it
difficult is that relating embedded subordinating clauses with
their main clauses may delay readers understanding of a text.
Embedding is also seen in pair (2) of 'before' group:
[If [there are any points on which] you require explanation or
further particulars] [we shall be glad]S1 [to furnish such
additional details [as may be required by telephone]Relative
clause]Adverbial clause
Here is a main clause S1 preceded by the non finite 2nd
conditional clause which also embeds another dependent clause.
Moreover, the main clause is also followed by a non finite
adverbial clause embedding a relative clause.
Whereas the Plain English group avoids embedding clauses in
their texts, as it shows in pair 1. Another example is in pair 2
(b):
[If you have any questions,]S2 [please ring]S1.
Here the complex sentence consists of a dependent clause and a
finite second conditional clause.
Another feature that affects the readability of the 'before' group

is the use of long complicated constituents. In the example
below, constituents in the parentheses are large constituents
consisting of several phrases embedded in them :
and Supplementary Benefit rights]DP1 [INFL[gives rise to [the
question of the provenance and authoritativeness of the material
to be displayed]DP2]VP]IP1.[Posters and leaflets issued by the
Central Office of Information, the Department of Health and
Social Security and other authoritative bodies]NP1 are usually
displayed in libraries , but items of a disputatious or polemic
kind, whilst not necessarily excluded, are considered
individually.
DP2 is a constituent embedded in constituent IP1. All these
phrases are constituents because they function as a single word
in the sentences above. For example, Substituting the DP1 and
NP1 by two single pronouns:
[This] DP1 gives rise to the question of the provenance and
authoritativeness of the material to be displayed. [They]NP1 are
usually displayed in libraries , but items of a disputatious or
polemic kind, whilst not necessarily excluded, are considered
individually.
By substituting DP2 with a single word:
and Supplementary Benefit rights]DP1 gives rise to
[questions]DP2.
By asking 'Wh' questions:
Q. What gives rise to the question of the provenance and
authoritativeness of the material to be displayed?
Ans. [Your enquiry about the use of the entrance area at the
library for the purpose of displaying posters and leaflets about
Welfare and Supplementary Benefit rights]DP1
Q. What does your enquiry about the use of the entrance area at

the library for the purpose of displaying posters and leaflets
about Welfare and Supplementary Benefit, give rise to?
Ans. [the question of the provenance and authoritativeness of
the material to be displayed]DP2
Q. What are usually displayed in libraries?
Ans. [Posters and leaflets issued by the Central Office of
Information, the Department of Health and Social Security and
other authoritative bodies]NP
To show the IP1 as a constituent ,'so does' can be used:
So does my enquiry (my enquiry gives rise to the question too)
Other meaningful IPs could be coordinated with IP1:
For example, [This] DP1 [gives rise ...] IP1 and [makes us
aware.......]
As shown above, constituents can sometimes be consisted of
many phrases affecting the readability of a text as the reader has
to process the string of information as a clump.
The plain Campaign group has modified the sentence to make
the constituents relatively shorter :
Thank you for [your letter asking permission to put up posters
in the entrance area of the library]DP. Before we can give you
an answer we will need to see a copy of the posters to make
sure they won't offend anyone.
The constituent above can be replaced by 'this':
Thank you for [this]DP.

A grammatically correct reply can be received by asking a 'Wh'
question :
Q. Thank you for what?
Ans. [your letter asking permission to put up posters in the
entrance area of the library]DP
The hard-to-read also tends to provide a lot of information by
using prepositional phrases. Every prepositional phrase gives
information that needs to be noticed before getting the full
understanding of the text:
[Your enquiry [about the use [of the entrance area]PP7 [at the
library ]PP6[for the purpose [[of displaying posters and
leaflets]PP5 [about Welfare and Supplementary Benefit
rights]PP4]PP3]PP2]PP1 , gives rise to [the question [of the
provenance and authoritativeness [of the material]PP9]PP8 to be
displayed]DP. Posters and leaflets issued [by the Central Office
of Information, the Department of Health and Social Security
and other authoritative bodies]PP10 are usually displayed [in
libraries]PP11 , but items [of a disputatious or polemic
kind]PP12, whilst not necessarily excluded are considered
individually.
The modified group contains only four PPs:
Thank you [for your letter asking permission to put up posters
[in the entrance area [of the library] PP3] PP2]PP1. Before we
can give you an answer we will need to see a copy [of the
posters] PP4 to make sure they won't offend anyone.
Each PP consists of a Head which is a preposition followed by a
DP which is the complement of the phrase. For example:
[of] Head[the entrance area]Complement

The before group chooses to add many modifying phrases in a
simple clause which may affect a reader's ability to process
information quickly. Following is a simple sentence from pair 1
(a) :
[High-quality learning]AdjP environments]NP are a
[[necessary]AP precondition]NP for [facilitation and
enhancement]NP of the [[ongoing learning]AdjP process]NP.
Also a chain of abstract nouns such as facilitation and
enhancement, which are not needed to use in daily conversation,
have been used by the group.
In contrast to that, pair 1(b) uses only two simple modifying
phrases in the whole sentence.
Children need [good]AdjP schools if they are to learn
[properly]AdvP.
The use of constituents functioning as adverb phrases can also
make a text complex. The following example is taken from pair
3(a) :
It is important that you shall read the notes, advice and
information detailed opposite then complete the form overleaf
(all sections)[ prior to its immediate return to the Council by
way of the envelope provided]AdvP.
The whole phrase can be deleted or moved to the front without
affecting the grammatical structure of the sentence.
Range of Sentence Types
The differences in their pragmatically marked construction of
the sentences to show speech act or mood are quite evident. The
hard group uses subject-verb-(object) order in most cases which

is the typical structure of a declarative sentence. However, The
purpose of the sentence type is not always to declare or state
information. For example, pair 3 (a) has used sentences that are
written in both declarative (d) and imperative (i) style but only
to provide instructions:
[[It]S [is]V [important that you shall read the notes, advice and
information detailed opposite]O]d [then [complete]V[
the form overleaf]O (all sections) prior to its immediate return
to the Council by way of the envelope provided.]i
In the same pair 3 (b) the form agrees with the function. To
express a request, it has used the imperative form which
typically begins with the base form of the verb followed by
object/s. Subjects are normally omitted:
Please [read]V [the notes]O opposite before you fill in the
form.
Then [send]V [it]O back to us as soon as possible in the
envelope provided.
In the above sentence 'please' is used to show politeness and is
not a part of S-V-(O) construction.
Pair 4 (a) is syntactically marked to be declarative. It also
functions to express information:
and Supplementary Benefit rights]S, [gives]Tran V rise to the
question of the provenance and authoritativeness of the material
to be displayed. [Posters and leaflets issued by the Central
Office of Information, the Department of Health and Social
Security and other authoritative bodies]S [are]Aux usually
[displayed]V in libraries, but [items of a disputatious or
polemic kind, whilst not necessarily excluded]S, [are]Aux
[considered]V individually.

Another distinctive feature of the 'before' group is, as it clearly
shows in pair 3 (a) and 4 (a) above, the group tend to use
passive voice by avoiding the use of first person nominative
cases. The other group, on the other hand, uses first person
nominative cases. Pair 3(b) has an example:
Then send it back to [us]as soon as possible in the envelope
provided.
Use of Phrasal Verbs
Use of phrasal verbs is very common in conversational English
but less common in formal written English. As shown above, the
Plain English group is trying to change the traditional way of
writing and their another approach is to use phrasal verbs to
make the language more natural. For example, in pair 3(b):
Please read the notes opposite before you [[fill]V [in]particle]
the form.
In pair 4 (b):
Thank you for your letter asking permission to [[put]v
[up]particle] posters ....
In contrast to that the hard-to-group texts do not have any
phrasal verbs.
The plain English Campaign endeavours to minimise sentence
complexity. They keep their writings short, simple and straight
to the point by cutting all redundant words and phrases. They
try to use words that are being used in everyday conversation to
make texts easy to read. As Payne says in his 'Understanding of
English Grammar', it is the frequency that allows people to

habitualize complex behaviour. The group focuses on the
behaviour that has already been habitualized .
Bibliography
Burton-Roberts, N. (1997) Analysing Sentences: An
Introduction to English Syntax 2nd edition, London: Longman
Payne, T.E. (2011)Understanding English Grammar CUP
Graddol, D. Cheshire, J. & Swann, J. (1994) Describing
Language
2nd edition, OUP
Thomas, L. (1993) Beginning Syntax Oxford: Blackwell
Publisher Ltd
6 Syntax and Morphology by Tahmina Haque

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