The full range of properties

To the largely formal properties discussed in Chapters 5 and 6 we can now add semantic (or semantic–pragmatic) properties of the modal group. One, their occurrence as sentential modifiers, is a property already identified in the narrower context of impersonal constructions. But since ‘subject-raising’ constructions with other verbs become more prominent in late Middle English, this is a less distinctive property at this period. More significant is occurrence as subjectives, both deontic and epistemic; this parameter is incorporated into Table 8.1 (p. 186) along with others already established. Here ‘prediction’ uses are included as subjective epistemics. Among other verbs, subjective deontic and epistemic uses in early English are associated with verbal mood rather than with individual lexemes, though ‘hortative’ let may be a partial exception to this statement (MED leten v. 10a) and particular context-bound instances (e.g. of seme) may be subjective; there are also (as today) adjectives (e.g. lik ‘likely’) and adverbs (e.g. certain, douteles) which may presumably be subjective epistemic. This additional criterion, along with the further evidence that these words are sentential modifiers, reinforces the picture of the mutual predictiveness of properties, and of the prototypical status of the verbs of group A: this seems very clear for late Middle English, less so for Old English. Indeed, for late Middle English there is virtually a further criterion.