Modal adjectives

Meer over het boek

This work revisits deontic modality through the lens of adjectives, an often-overlooked category in the modal domain. Utilizing synchronic and diachronic corpus studies, it examines the semantics of English adjectives like "essential" and "appropriate," aiming to refine traditional definitions of deontic modality, which have primarily focused on modal verbs. Initially, the study demonstrates that meanings conveyed by extraposition constructions with deontic adjectives differ significantly from those associated with modal verbs. Notably, adjectival complement constructions do not express the directive meanings of obligation or permission, typically considered core deontic categories, and instead extend into non-modal evaluative meanings. Subsequently, the analysis proposes an alternative definition of deontic modality that encompasses both verbs and adjectives, addressing their modal and non-modal extensions. This definition is illustrated through a conceptual map that operates diachronically, outlining pathways of change from premodal to modal to evaluative meanings, and synchronically, accommodating refinements within each meaning set. The study highlights the emergence of partially filled constructions and provides further evidence for established changes in English history, including the decline of the subjunctive and the rise of the to-infinitive in complement constructions. This book is particularly relevant for researche