The base form [Ø] of the first or leftmost verb occurs with all but thirdperson singular subjects. I like my cereal with iced tea.

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1 English Auxiliaries Rio Akasaka A. Auxiliary Verbs The VP Phrase structure rule as we currently have it is VP (have 1 ) (be 1 ) V (NP) (AP) (PP) * The two form rules that govern have 1 and be 1 are: i) A verb following have 1 must be in form [4] He has walked all the way from Mary Lyons in the snow. ii) A verb following be 1 must be in form [3] Sarah is running to class because she is late. The revised Subject-Verb-Agreement rule is: i) The subject of a sentence must agree in number. ii) iii) iv) B. Modals The base form [Ø] of the first or leftmost verb occurs with all but thirdperson singular subjects. I like my cereal with iced tea. # He like to eat chocolate. Form [1] (3rd sg.) of the first or leftmost verb occurs only with thirdperson singular subjects. That man has a lot of money to spend. # We has a lot of time to spend on homework. Form [2] (past) of the first or leftmost V occurs with any subject The cat had a bit of a problem with her feet. I had a case of the migraine last week. 1) The snow might could would should delay our train, but it won't cancel our classes. have closed the airport, but we will give it a shot anyway. be the cause of my car's failures as of late. have been dangerous had we not been prepared. may force us to abandon our plan altogether. can be a terrible way to spend an evening. 2) The traffic jam will shall have an effect on the vacation plans of many. have been the reason why I feel so edgy today. must (Modal auxiliaries can also include has to and ought to. The above phrases are not mutually exclusive, as the modals are interchangeable.) We note that some phrases seem more awkward than others, such as

2 The traffic jam will/shall have been the reason why I feel so edgy today. It does not however preclude the possibility of such word configurations, though the context might suggest the possibility of better organizing such phrases, such as Any customer who shall have been delayed due to the traffic jam will be duly compensated. Properties and Features of Modals a) Most modals occur exist in one of two forms: epistemic, in which case the assertion in the proposition is at issue. He must be sleepy he hasn t been to bed for at least a day now. deontic, in which case necessity or obligation is at issue You must go home right now, because you have a cold. 1) We note that modals cannot function on their own: might # could The drought. would should may can # The tree that will. shall must The only instances where we find such phrases to be used in the English language is in a situation as follows: Speaker A: You can t go to the party in those horrible rags! Speaker B: But I must! In that case we note that Speaker B is actually using verbal ellipsis, which elides the verb that is implied, since it would seem redundant to repeat the verb: Speaker B: But I must (go)! 2) We note that modals, since they do not have an infinitival form, cannot appear in conjunction with other modals auxiliary verbs: The door must have been opened by a very crafty robber. # The door must will have been opened by a very crafty robber.

3 There is, however, an interesting case of some varieties of English, such as Scottish English, at some point allowing combinations of two modals. Hogg and Denison, in A History of the English Language, show that the following were first recorded in the late 18 th to mid-19 th century: a. I thought you said we might could get some candy. b. If we had known, we may still could have done it. They suggest that this is evidence that modals in English had undergone changes that led them from their original infinitival form to their present day auxiliary form. (pp. 151, 159) 3) Modal verbs are defective, in that they cannot have properties that are assigned to most other verbs: they never have suffixes added to them ( # She woulded); they can never have infinitives ( # to may, # to shall), participles ( # I am mighting, # he is shalling), or imperatives ( # May!, # Must!) 1 4) Modals must precede all other verbs in a sentence: i) I should be home by ten o clock to watch the football match. ii) # I be should home by ten o clock. iii) The teacher must have been exhausted after grading 40 papers. iv) # The teacher have must been exhausted. v) She may come to school tomorrow, weather permitting. vi) # She come may to school tomorrow. All of the above suggests that modal auxiliary verbs are a special class of verbs that act differently in conjunction with regular verbs in order to form an opinion, belief, certainty, desire, or possibility 2 on the part of the speaker. The example case of phrase (4): shows us that: The drought might have been ruining our crops. 1) The verb have is not in its base form, i.e. it does not indicate possession. Instead, it is the auxiliary have 1 as noted in section A. 2) Likewise, the verb be is acting as an auxiliary, specifically the be 1 referred to in section A. We also realize that the verb that follows it is in form [3], which agrees with our prior rules. 1 With reference to Wikipedia s entry on Defective verbs, 2 What is mood and modality?

4 Thus, our phrase structure rules can be modified: VP (Mod) (have 1 ) (be 1 ) V (NP) (AP) (PP) * I didn t realize it, but I must have been sleeping for a good 12 hours. We also add another verb form rule discussed in class regarding modals: A verb following a modal must be in the base form ([Ø]). The following presents a curious point, as the verb that follows be 1 is not in form [3]. We note however that the sentence is cast in passive form, using instead the past participle. In doing so, the subject becomes the patient, acted upon by the verb: Present perfect: I could have been accused of cheating, but the claim was unfounded. Past perfect: The cell phone Sam was looking for had been confiscated. Future perfect: The computer will have been constructed by the time I arrive. C. Accounting for certain facts (5) These cookies have been tempting me for days.

5 (6) # Harvey might could win that fight. Our VP rule does not allow for more than one modal, so it does not generate this phrase. (7) # The monkey have eaten a banana. Our Subject-Verb agreement rule requires the use of the has when, since the subject is a third-person singular. (8) # The monkey has eating a banana. Since the verb following a have 1 must be in form [4] (past participle), we rectify the error by changing eating to the past participle form, eaten. (9) # The monkey is having eaten a banana. Our VP rules only allow for three verbs in a sentence if the first is have 1, the second is be 1 and the third is the actual verb. We see here that the first verb is be in form [1], which already violates our rule. Hence the phrase is not generated. (10) # The monkey has should eat a banana. Our VP rule requires the modal to precede all other verbs in a verb phrase. This phrase would not be generated by our rules. D. Dummy do (emphatic auxiliary) I do know the way to the chemistry lab, but I don t know if I should tell you. He did claim to have solved the entire puzzle by himself. Do enter, the counselor said to me. She does seem rather erratic today. The incompatibility with other auxiliaries can be demonstrated as follows: # The dog did might finish his entire bone. # The teacher may does dance very nicely, though I m not at all surprised. # She won t believe me, but I was do love syntax very much. Since we know that do 1 cannot co-occur with other auxiliaries, we suggest the following rule: (Mod) (have 1 ) (be 1 ) VP V (NP) (AP) (PP)* (do 1 ) We note from the previous examples that all the verbs that follow do 1 are in base form, and suggest it as a formal rule: A verb following do 1 must be in base form ([Ø]). (11) The monkey did like that banana. The verb is in the base form, so the sentence is properly formed and is grammatical. (12) # Our class be studying syntax. The main verb is studying, with the auxiliary be. None of our rules allows the use of an auxiliary be that is not in the 3 rd person singular form, and hence the phrase can never be generated.

6 (13) # These scores might do impress the committee. Our rule that requires a base form of the verb to follow a modal does not allow the construction of this phrase. (14) That monkey with a sharp mind must have studied syntax. (15) # That monkey with a sharp mind did have studied syntax. Our rule denies the construction because if the verb do acts as an auxiliary, we cannot have another auxiliary preceding the verb. Our previous examples also established this fact. (16) # Students with aspirations for high status do must study syntax. Once again we note that do cannot precede a modal or any auxiliary verb. Any verb that follows do 1 must be the main verb.