6-7), Breiteneder (2009) did not find a large incidence of 3rd person singular - O. In only about 21% of the cases where 3rd personal singular was used was the -s left off. Perhaps, reasons Breiteneder, this is because all the speakers in the study had received formal schooling in a SE, but if so, then why was the -s used in some cases and not in others? Breiteneder posits that in some instances the interlocutors may have been purposely leaving off the -s for social reasons (2009, p. 262).
Certain verbs and expletive phrases seem to divide along dialectal lines with regard to use of modal past. Jacobsson (1975) writes that the sentences I suggested he took it with him, and I suggested he should take it with him, both using modal past, are acceptable in British English and equivalent to the American version I suggested he take it with him, which uses subjunctive (p. 222). Likewise, it's important (that) you went at once (British dialect) (Jacobsson, p. 222) as compared with it's important (that) you go at once (American dialect). And there are many more examples of this kind. Interestingly, this dialectal difference is not merely stylistic, as Jacobsson observes: "In British English, the sentence it is important that we have an adequate supply of atom bombs could be taken to mean that we have already got the supply, while the American interpretation would be that it is important for us to get it" (p. 222).
Finally, the modal past expression as it were is commonly employed, at least in American English, as a rhetorical device signaling metaphor. It is frequently used to reinforce the metaphorical nature of an idiomatic expression that directly precedes it, as in: He told me so he, straight from the horse's mouth, as it was.
Modal Past in English
Most speakers of English, if asked what is meant by the -ed ending on a word such as lived, will know very well that it means "past tense" and signifies that the action of living is in the past. And in many cases, of course, this is true. However, past morphology also frequently has a meaning quite apart from "past time"; in fact, it often refers specifically to present or future time and semantically reflects modality rather than temporality. Consider the following uses of past morphology on the verb live:
When I was 16, I lived in Hawaii.
If I lived in Hawaii, I could go to the beach every day.
I wish I lived in Hawaii.
Of the above examples, only the first actually refers to past time. The others refer to the present time, despite containing the same nominally "past" form of the verb, lived. This incongruity between past morphology and non-past time is made more salient by the use of adverbs:
If you called her right now, you wouldn't get her because she's not at home.
If you asked me tomorrow, I would say yes.
This phenomenon is also reflected in the use of nominally past tense morphology alongside present tense morphology, which appears in either implied context or the paraphrased version of the sentence with nominal past tense morphology:
If I had a car, I would come pick you up. (Implied: I don't have a car; present tense)
How did you know I was here?
(implied: I'm here now; present tense)
He talks to me as if I were a child. (implied: I'm not a child; present tense)
What did you say your name was? (Jespersen, 1924, p. 294)
(temporally equivalent: What is your name? present tense)
I was hoping you could help me.
(temporally equivalent: I'm hoping you can help me; present tense) Could I ask you question?
(answer: Yes, you certainly can; present tense)
Jespersen (1954) refers to these uses of past morphology as "tenses of the imagination" and writes that "verbal forms which are primarily used to indicate past time are often used without that temporal import to denote unreality, impossibility, improbability or non-fulfillment" (p. 112). Davidsen-Nielsen (1990) points out that using past morphology to denote "unreality" is an epistemic usage, i.e., clearly modal (p. 170). Iatridou (2000) proposes that "past" is not actually the primary meaning of the morphology that usually goes by that name, but rather that "past" is simply one manifestation of its semantics.
Time
Critical to the analysis of modal past is an understanding of both the form of tense morphology and the various notions of time as they are represented in English. English tense morphology corresponds to a binary system of past and non-past, signaled by verb inflections. Notional time, on the other hand, comprises past, present, and future, as well as relative pasts and...
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