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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2 6 Thomas Egan<br />
<strong>the</strong> ‘would like to’ form gradually, but inexorably, replacing its non-modalised<br />
‘like to’ counterpart.<br />
The o<strong>the</strong>r context in which <strong>the</strong> non-modalised ‘like to’ construction is found<br />
with specific complements in Present-day English is when <strong>the</strong> matrix verb is negated.<br />
Although <strong>the</strong>re has been an increase in <strong>the</strong> occurrence of general validity<br />
predications in this context in <strong>the</strong> last two centuries, this increase is not statistically<br />
significant. The fact that <strong>the</strong> non-modalised ‘hate to’ construction is still employed<br />
with a similar meaning may be a factor influencing <strong>the</strong> resilience of ‘don’t<br />
like to’ used in this sense in Present-day English.<br />
The second matrix verb to exhibit a statistically significant increase in <strong>the</strong><br />
use of <strong>the</strong> non-modalised construction to encode general validity predications is<br />
prefer. Recall that prefer differs <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r three verbs in that it occurred with<br />
an -ing complement before it began to be used with a to-infinitive complement.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> nineteenth century it was <strong>the</strong> only emotion verb to regularly encode general<br />
validity predications by means of -ing ra<strong>the</strong>r than to-infinitive complements.<br />
(4 )–(43) are cases where one would expect to find to-infinitive complements in<br />
Present-day English.<br />
(4 ) Mr and Mrs Murray generally thought it sufficient to show<br />
<strong>the</strong>mselves at church once in <strong>the</strong> course of <strong>the</strong> day; but<br />
frequently <strong>the</strong> children preferred going a second time to<br />
wandering about <strong>the</strong> grounds all <strong>the</strong> day with nothing to do.<br />
(Brontë, Agnes Gray)<br />
(42) They departed early in <strong>the</strong> morning before any one else was<br />
down, except myself, and just as I was leaving my room, Lord<br />
Lowborough was descending to take his place in <strong>the</strong> carriage<br />
where his lady was already ensconced; and Arthur (or Mr.<br />
Huntingdon as I prefer calling him, for <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r is my child’s<br />
name) had <strong>the</strong> gratuitous insolence to come out in his dressinggown<br />
to bid his ‘friend’ good bye. (Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall )<br />
(43) They generally prefer running against <strong>the</strong> wind; yet at <strong>the</strong> first<br />
start <strong>the</strong>y expand <strong>the</strong>ir wings, and like a vessel make all sail.<br />
(Darwin, The Voyage of <strong>the</strong> Beagle)<br />
A third of <strong>the</strong> -ing complements of prefer in <strong>the</strong> CLMET 780– 850 are of this<br />
type. There are some general validity predications encoded by ‘prefer -ing’ complements<br />
in <strong>the</strong> BNC, as evidenced by (44) and (45). However, a search of <strong>the</strong> BNC<br />
as a whole for prefer preceded by generally, normally or usually yielded 23 tokens<br />
containing non-finite complements, of which <strong>the</strong> only two -ing complements