A Corpus-based Study On Modality By Modal Verbs Triggering Yes/No Question Sentences

Modalities of English modal verbs in yes-no question belong to one of the most significant grammars in English.Each modal verb presents either scopes of modalities in different contexts.Besides,modal verbs triggering yes-no question sentences show more complicated features than in declarative sentences,which gives English learners more confusion.Therefore,this study,based on Quirk et al and Coates’s theories about modality,investigates the features of modalities of modal verbs in yes-no questions from three aspects:the distributions of central modal verbs,extrinsic and intrinsic modalities of each modal verb,constraints of modalities on predicate verbs.This thesis adopts corpus-based approach,connects quantitative and qualitative analyses,and uses modern statistical methods.By statistics and analyses,the research results are presented as follows:First,there is a significant difference in the distributional frequencies of modal verbs in yes-no questions from written and spoken texts.The modal verbs of yes-no questions are more frequently used in oral communication.Moreover,the frequencies of will,would and should in yes-no questions in written texts are significantly higher than those in spoken texts.Of all of the central modal verbs,can has the highest frequencies in concordances.Besides,modalities of modal verbs in yes-no questions are classified into extrinsic and intrinsic modalities.In general,can,will,might and must in yes-no questions are more frequently used to express extrinsic modalities.The modal verbs could,would,may,should and shall are mostly used to express intrinsic modalities.In terms of the subject of a sentence,generally speaking,modal verbs followed by personal pronouns express intrinsic modalities,while modal verbs followed by impersonal pronouns or nouns express extrinsic modalities.Finally,the modality of modal verbs in yes-no questions has certain limitations on predicative verbs.The predicate verb in yes-no question sentences belongs to a dynamic verb,which implies that the modal verb expresses an extrinsic modality,conversely,it is a static verb,which expresses an intrinsic modality.What can be concluded above all,based on the study modalities of modal verbs in yes-no questions,this paper has both theoretical and practical significance.On the one hand,this paper explores the modalities and finds out the grammatical theory from a new perspective different from previous researches.On the other hand,this study deepens and optimizes English learners and translators’ understanding and application of modality in yes-no question sentences.