Selected Papers from the Fourteenth International ... - STIBA Malang
Selected Papers from the Fourteenth International ... - STIBA Malang
Selected Papers from the Fourteenth International ... - STIBA Malang
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224 Thomas Egan<br />
with to-infinitive constructions with modalised matrix verbs and constructions<br />
with gerunds. 2 Section 3 contains an overview of <strong>the</strong> distribution of all three constructions<br />
over <strong>the</strong> last three hundred years and Section 4 details of <strong>the</strong> use of <strong>the</strong><br />
construction with a non-modalised matrix verb and a to-infinitive complement<br />
to encode specific and general predications in <strong>the</strong> last two hundred years. Finally,<br />
Section 5 contains a summary and conclusion.<br />
2. The non-finite complements of emotion verbs in Present-day English<br />
All four verbs discussed in this paper occur in three non-finite construction types,<br />
each of which typically (or prototypically) locates <strong>the</strong> complement predication in<br />
a different ontological domain. 3 In <strong>the</strong> first place, <strong>the</strong>y all occur with a modalised<br />
matrix verb and a to-infinitive complement. In this construction <strong>the</strong> complement<br />
is normally situated in <strong>the</strong> projected future, i.e., posterior to <strong>the</strong> time of <strong>the</strong> matrix<br />
verb. ( )–(4), all taken <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> BNC, illustrate this construction type with <strong>the</strong><br />
four matrix verbs.<br />
( ) Ultimately, she would like to work in film, behind <strong>the</strong> camera.<br />
(BNC CGB 786)<br />
(2) Paula says that she would love to have children but hasn’t yet found <strong>the</strong> right<br />
man to have children with. (BNC K3P 69)<br />
(3) I wouldn’t mind losing my stuff but I’d hate to lose my films.<br />
(4) ‘I’d prefer to fly <strong>the</strong>re, and rent a villa,’ she said.<br />
(BNC APC 748)<br />
(BNC CKB 429)<br />
In ( ) <strong>the</strong> realisation of <strong>the</strong> wishes of <strong>the</strong> subject would lead to her working in <strong>the</strong><br />
film industry. If this occurs, and, of course, nothing is certain where <strong>the</strong> future<br />
is concerned, it will be after <strong>the</strong> time of <strong>the</strong> utterance. As <strong>the</strong> Cambridge Grammar<br />
puts it, <strong>the</strong> ‘would like to-infinitive’ construction “projects into <strong>the</strong> future<br />
and resembles a verb of wanting” (Huddleston & Pullum 2002: 242). Similarly<br />
<strong>the</strong> ‘would love to-infinitive’ construction also projects into <strong>the</strong> future and also it,<br />
too, resembles a verb of wanting. In this case <strong>the</strong> degree of <strong>the</strong> wanting is merely<br />
2. The vast majority of <strong>the</strong> modals in question in Late Modern and Present-day English are<br />
would, should or ’d. Note that in this paper I use an expression like ‘would like to’ as shorthand<br />
for ‘modal verb + like to’.<br />
. They also occur in a non-finite construction with an object predicative in <strong>the</strong> form of a past<br />
participle, as in ‘I like my humour served up intelligently and well presented’ (BNC BNS 458).<br />
This construction is not considered in this paper.