Imperatives, Modals and Conditionals

Tense-Modal Interaction

Since a modal auxiliary is an alternative choice to the Tense feature of an auxiliary, English has to create a way to refer to past time as well as nonpast time when using modal auxiliaries.  Historically, the modals were actually main verb forms themselves and were inflected for tense, just like other main verbs.  That is why should looks like the past of shall, would looks like the past of will, and could looks like (and still means) the past of can.  In one context, the past-nonpast relationships between these pairs stills holds true: in indirect speech.  He said, “I will go,” turns into he said he would go.  He said, “I can go,” turns into he said he could go.  But when we turn to the final pair, we see that even this context no longer holds the past-nonpast pairings.  He said “I shall go,” can turn into he said he should go, but it can also turn into he said he would go.  Is one more standard in American English?

In other words, English needs ways to include time reference while revealing various moods about actions.  English does not employ simply one method to do this.  The first thing to realize is that the modals typically refer to nonpast time.  That is, every modal can be used in its standard form to refer to either present or future time, but not past time (Only could can refer to past).

            We must leave now.
            We must leave tomorrow.
            *We must leave yesterday.

            We should leave now.                         We ought to leave now.
            We should leave tomorrow.                We ought to leave tomorrow.
            *We should leave yesterday.              *We ought to leave yesterday.

            We can leave now.
            We can leave tomorrow.
            *We can leave yesterday

            We may leave now.                 We might leave now.               We could leave now.
            We may leave tomorrow.        We might leave tomorrow.      We could leave tomorrow.
            *We may leave yesterday.      *We might leave yesterday.    We could leave yesterday.

            We would rather leave now.
            We would rather leave tomorrow.
            *We would rather leave yesterday.

What English has to provide, then, are ways to refer to past time.   One common method is to use the perfect aspect.  Since perfect means “completed,” it can refer to time before now.  This is how we have forms such as We should have left yesterday, meaning it was advisable to leave yesterday.

English has also developed periphrastic modal forms, phrases that “talk around” the modal.  We employ the linking verb be with an adjective, like be able, or be possible, and we also employ main verbs that can be inflected for past followed by infinitives, like have to, and need to.  Finally, we can use an adverb like probably, or possibly while using a main verb inflected for past time.

Aspect-Modal Interaction

We have just seen that modals can co-occur with the perfect aspect.  One interesting feature of their co-occurrence with the perfect feature comes in the default meaning.  If a person says, “We should have left yesterday,” the perfect aspect allows the modal to refer to past time.  It also typically means that although it was a good idea to do something yesterday, the speakers didn’t actually do it.  This is because, if an action actually took place in the past, there is little need to hedge or convey a feeling about its possibility or probability.  If it is over, we likely have clear knowledge and certainty about it.  The default meaning of a perfect modal, then, is to refer to something that didn’t happen and express our “hindsight” about it.  It becomes more subjunctive or hypothetical in nature.

Nevertheless, there are past events whose outcomes we haven’t yet heard, even though we are sure the events are over.  Perfect modals are used to express our level of certainty about the possible completed outcome that we have not yet heard: Have you seen the score yet?  The Vikings might have won against Green Bay, and The Vikings must have won against Green Bay, express medium and strong feelings of certainty about the guess that Vikings won.  On the other hand, Have you heard the score yet?  The Vikings can’t have won expresses the typical Purple Depression that Minnesotans live with.

Finally, just as perfect aspect can co-occur with modals, so can progressive aspect.  It might be raining expresses the guess that rain is falling at the present moment with a low-medium amount of  probability attached.

Voice

Voice refers to the presentation of semantic relationships in sentences with action verbs.  We have already learned that action verbs divide into transitive and intransitive verbs.  We typically present information in the following manner: an entity initiates an action.  The action may carry over to another entity, in which case the action is transitive rather than intransitive.  This typical presentation is referred to as active voice.  The focus is on the entity initiating the action and the action itself.

If, however, we alter the information and present the entity that received the action and then the action that it received, we have altered the focus from the actor and action to the receiver, and we are now presenting the information in passive voice.  Currently passive voice is frowned upon, reflecting, perhaps, America’s usual disdain for passivity, although there is nothing ungrammatical at all about it, and to remove it as an option for writers cripples them by leaving them with only one choice in their presentation of information.

Tense-Aspect-Mood-Voice Interaction

All 12 traditional tenses can be formed into passive voice, but some become very unwieldy and other options are clearly favored.  This essentially means that passive voice can co-occur with both tense and aspect.  Refer to the handout of verb forms to see how each of the 12 forms looks when in active and passive voice.

Passive voice can co-occur with modal forms, as well.  This is easily seen with the “future” tenses which employ a modal, will.  Other modals and periphrastic modals can take passive forms, too.  Examples include: You might be scolded for arriving late, You shouldn’t be scolded for arriving late, and You are going to be scolded for arriving late.

Passive voice can co-occur with verb forms that function as nouns, too.  That is, we can find passive gerunds and passive infinitives.  Examples include: To be scolded by the teacher sucks, and I hate being scolded by the teacher.

Activity 7.7: Getting Theoretical

Select the complete verb and identify its tense (past, nonpast), time reference (past, present, future), aspect (simple, perfect, progressive), modality (indicative, necessary, possible, etc.).

Click on each word of the complete verb to change the color to green. When all the words in the verb are selected, answer text boxes will appear. Type into each box the appropriate term to identify tense, aspect, time reference and modality.

Click on the check button to check your answers. A single correct answer will remain unchanged, incorrect answers will go to blank. After three tries, an option for the correct answer will appear as a "Solution" button.

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