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TOPIC 26. EXPRESSION OF DOUBT, CONDITION, HYPOTHESIS AND CONTRAST - Coggle…
TOPIC 26. EXPRESSION OF DOUBT, CONDITION, HYPOTHESIS AND CONTRAST
DOUBT = state of uncertainty about past, present or future time or about what's the right thing to do. Thus, it's related to the scale of likelihood: uncertainty-improbability-possibility-probability-certainty
The notions are expressed in various ways, by:
- modal auxiliaries: You may be right
- sentence with introductory it and a that-clause: It's possible that you're correct
- an adverbial: Perhaps you're truthful
- expressions involving diff. structures and lexical items, very often related to terms from the scale: possible, certainty
- intonation, placed on statements, questions and exclamations
UNCERTAINTY expressed with:
- Modal verbs to indicate low probability and relative uncertainty of the speaker about this fact: He might not be home
- Other lexical and grammatical means: know, believe, opinion, tag questions, assume/suppose+will, look/seem
- Adjectives semantically related to certainty: sure/convinced
- Intonation to increase the sensation of uncertainty wiht some structures such as negative/affirmative statements with rising intonation. The speaker can ask for confirmation by adjusting the nuclear tone in a question tag
- conversational strategies of admitting no knowledge or leaving space for doubt: really? Are u sure? I haven't got a clue
PROBABILITY/POSSIBILITY expressed with:
- ought to, should, can, may, could, might, maybe, it's possible
- Other lexical and grammatical items, such as any expression including adjectives/nouns semantically and morphologically related to words like probable/possible; the inclusion of adverbials like probably/possibly; the it-clause with the corresponding adj/N
CERTAINTY expressed with:
- Modal verbs: Must+inf and have+inf; will; past would
- Other lexical and grammatical means: know, adj (certain/sure), it-clause with corresponding adj/N (obvious/clear/plain); adverbials derived from adj (clearly/obviously/plainly)
- Intonation pattern is the one considered to be neutral for the given structure: falling intonation for affirmative and negative statements
CONTRAST
CLAUSES OF CONTRAST AND CONCESSIVE CLAUSES: If 2 circumstances are in contrast, it means that one is surprising/unexpected to the other.
- We can put the 2 contrasting statements together by making one of 'em into a subclause beginning with the concessive subordinators although: We're late although we got out early.
- Even though is more empathic than though. We can link the contrasting ideas in another way, by using the coordinating conjunction but: He hadn't eaten for days, but he looked strong
- The contrast conjunctions while/whereas are more formal and can express contrast between 2 equivalent ideas: She was lovely, whereas he was a monster
- Special constructions for expressing the meaning of even though: Much as I would/ Strange as it may seem; In sentences like these, the conjunction as occurs in the middle of the subclause, after a subject complement or an adverbial (much). Sometimes, though is used instead of as: Strange though it may seem...
All these subordinators (except when/whereas) may introduce -ing, -ed and verbless clauses
- Universal conditional concessive clauses indicate a free choice from any nº of conditions. They're mainly introduced by the wh-words that are compounded with -ever and by the constructions it doesn't matter, anyway, in any case, no matter followed by the wh-elements. The verb be can be omitted if the subject of a SVC clause is an abstract noun phrase: I'll do it my way, whatever you think.
- Alternative conditional concessive clauses in which the statement in the main clause is true in any of the conditions covered by the subclause. They're introduced by either...or, whether...or, with... or without
CONTRAST EXPRESSED BY STRESS AND INTONATION: every msg is split into tone units or intonational phrases, each containing its own nucleus, which marks the focus of info. Normally, the nucleus is at the end of the tone unit but it can be shifted elsewhere for contrast: Are you painting the kitchen blue?
OTHER CONSTRUCTIONS TO EXPRESS CONTRAST: in spite of, despite, notwithstanding, for (all) = prep of contrast
- There are also a nº of conjuncts expressing meaning in spite of this/that: yet, however, nevertheless, all the same, still, even so
- Yet can be used in the main clause to reinforce the contrast made by the subclause: She was mad, yet he looked at me
- The adv even is used to imply a contrast with what we usually expect: she won't even talk to me.
CONDITION is expressed by a conditional clause, which is a type of adverbial clause.
FORM: Conditional clauses, for which the most common subordinators are if/unless, which are also used with non-finite and verbless clauses. Conditional subordinators are restricted to finite clauses: given that, on condition that, provided that, supposing that, in case that, as long as, with, without, etc.
- One type of hypothetical conditional clauses doesn't require the use of a subordinator, but it indicates the condition by means of an inverted word order (there isn't contracted form in the negative of-clauses beginning had/were/should: Had I not known)
- Conditions expressed by means of coordinated sentences, participle clauses or with the putative should: Should you have any questions, let me know.
PATTERN is fixed to use tenses in the main part and in the subordinate part: different meanings are expressed by each combi:
- Type 0 (present for the condition-present)
- Type 1 (present for the condition-future)
- Type 2 (past for the condition-conditional)
- Type 3 (perfect conditional- past perfect for the condition).
Mixed conditionals are also possible. However, it's not always the case that the condition and the resulting action are expressed explicitly:
- Direct conditions: expressed explicitly. The situation in the matrix clause is directly contingent on the situation in the conditional clause.
- Indirect Condition: not related to the situation in the matrix clause, such as metalinguistic comment, uncertainty, conditions under which the speaker makes the utterance, expression of politeness or softening the tone of a comment/question
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HYPOTHESIS: circumstances in which the issue of truth or falsehood is assumed rather than directly stated.
HYPOTHETICAL MEANING IN CONDITIONAL CONSTRUCTIONS: a fact is usually expressed by a finite verb clause or by an -ing clause: I'm surprised that he made it
- A hypothesis is usually expressed by the past tense in dependent clauses and by would+inf in main clauses.
- The past tense has nothing to do with past time here: reference is to the present or future time. Past time when combined with hypothesis is expressed by the perfective construction (have+ed/participle)
- Would in the verb of the main clause can be replaced by another past tense modal auxiliary
OTHER CONSTRUCTIONS TO EXPRESS HYPOTHETICAL MEANING: apart from the conditional clauses, hypothetical meaning may occur in a few other special constructions in which the past tense plays the main role: It's time, as if, as though, suppose, if only, wish, in that case, then, otherwise, in your place.
There are also less common ways of expressing hypothetical meaning in subclauses, with(out) past tense:
- Were-subjunctive: if I were you, I'd train every single day
- were/was to+inf: If it were to rain tomorrow, I'd cuddle you
- Should+inf: If a serious problem should arise, I would take care of it