Modifiers of Modal Auxiliaries: New Sources for Ordering

Recent work has shown that at least some modals, like likely, are gradable (Yalcin 2007, 2010; Lassiter 2011; Klecha 2012), requiring a modal semantics which is compatible with a Kennedy-style semantics for gradability (Kennedy 1999, 2007; Kennedy and McNally 2005), which allows for the combination of gradable modals with degree modifiers like more, too, very, etc. Lassiter (2011) argues in light of this that all modals, even modal auxiliaries, are inherently scalar; so this raises the possibility that easily is like a degree modifier. But could cannot combine with degree modifiers more generally, and easily does not combine with anything other than modal auxiliaries. Yalcin (2007) argues for a mixed account where some modals are gradable and some have a traditional quantificational semantics; moreover, Klecha (2012a, in progress) specifically rebuts Lassiter, arguing that modal auxiliaries may have a Kratzerian quantificational semantics. I propose a semantics for easily which allows for it to act as a “possibility intensifier” but without abandoning a Kratzerian semantics for possibility modals, as Lassiter (2011) does. Rather, easily restricts the domain of the modal, giving a stronger interpretation.