‘I wouldn’t think you might agree’

Abstract

This study concerns objectivity, subjectivity and intersubjectivity in relation to the English central modal verbs. In order to refine the (inter)subjective status of modals from a synchronic perspective, it focuses on their possible uses within a specific communicative context where the SP/W needs to ‘modulate’ his/her own and/or other people’s point of view. A qualitative and quantitative corpus-based analysis has been carried out on the syntactic pattern Subject + Modal Verb + Mental Verb, to check whether and to what extent (inter)subjectivity occurs in the written medium. By means of a semantic-pragmatic analysis of the central modals within the selected pattern, a wide range of communicative strategies has been observed. Four main aims have been identified that the SP/W may have in mind when choosing to resort to (inter)subjectivity: namely, the expression of the SP/W’s point of view (EPV), the shaping of the AD/R’s line of reasoning (SLR), the imposition of the SP/W’s power on the AD/R (IP), and the communication of information (CI).