Abstract
In this paper I argue that noun complement modality cannot be treated as dependent on the meanings of lexical embedding predicates or of abstract performatives. Using two types of complement modalities, I show that their meanings and restrictions remain distinct and invariable regardless of the meanings of their embedding predicates. Then, using embedding predicates that can take both types of modalities, I show that the embedding predicates retain their meanings, regardless of the different modalities of their complements, and they can undergo deletions requiring their identity.
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This is a revised version of a paper read at the 1974 Summer meeting of the Linguistic Society of America. I would like to thank Robin Ault and Lise Menn for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.
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Ransom, E.N. On the representation of modality. Linguistics and Philosophy 1, 357–379 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00353454
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00353454