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Verbs, Time, and Modality *
Author(s) -
Steedman M. J.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
cognitive science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.498
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1551-6709
pISSN - 0364-0213
DOI - 10.1207/s15516709cog0102_4
Subject(s) - modality (human–computer interaction) , deontic logic , linguistics , modal , relation (database) , modal verb , character (mathematics) , computer science , scheme (mathematics) , epistemic modality , artificial intelligence , natural language processing , philosophy , mathematics , verb , mathematical analysis , chemistry , geometry , database , polymer chemistry
In the first part of this paper it is argued that Vendler's classification of verbs into aspectual categories, called activities, accomplishments, achievements, and states, is better seen as classifying the meanings of sentences, and a recursive scheme for describing the aspectual character of sentences is presented. In the second part, this scheme is applied to the discussion of the epistemic and deontic meanings of the modal verbs must, will , and may . In particular, the relation between the “future” and “nonfuture” senses of epistemic will is examined.