A Student's Introduction to English Grammar

§8 Mood 53

A salient interpretation of [ia] is that there was just one nod. But a nod is punc­

tual, so [ib] cannot normally involve a single nod: it conveys the idea of a

sequence of nods.

The default interpretation of [iia] is as a state: we take it to describe his charac­

ter/personality. The progressive requires a dynamic component of meaning, and

we interpret [iib] in terms of behaviour rather than character: "He is behaving

very tactfully".

Non-progressive [iiia] again describes a state, while the progressive [iiib] conveys

that the situation is a relatively temporary one - it is progressing towards its end.

The usual interpretation of [iva] is as a state, with regular, habitual reading of

the 'New Scientist': reading it takes too long to permit an interpretation with

a single reading in present time. The most salient interpretation of [ivb]

(though not the only one) is then of a single reading in progress at the present

moment.

The progressive futurate

There are certain cases where clauses with progressive form do not have the usual "in
progress" meaning. The most important involves the futurate construction (see §S.l):

[5 0 ] a. I see my broker today. b. I'm seeing my broker today.
In both clauses we are concerned with a future act of seeing someone. Version [ia]
is an ordinary futurate use of the present tense, and conveys that an appointment has
been set up or is regularly scheduled, whereas [ib] may suggest simply that I intend
to go and see my broker today.

8 Mood

Mood is a grammatical category associated with the semantic dimen­

sion of modality. Mood is to modality as tense is to time: tense and mood are cate­

gories of grammatical form, while time and modality are the associated categories

of meaning.

Modality deals mainly with two related contrasts: factual vs non-factual, and

asserted vs non-asserted. The meaning differences seen in [Sli] and [Slii] are dif­

ferences in modality.

[51 ] NON-MODAL

I

MODAL

a. She saw him. b. She must have seen him.

ii a. He leaves today. b. He must leave today.

c. She may have seen him.

c. He can/may leave today.

In [i] the [a] version presents her seeing him as a matter of fact, whereas in [b] it is
an inference and in [cl simply a possibility. In [ii] the [a] version has the force of an
assertion, whereas [b] can be used as a kind of directive, imposing an obligation,
and [cl can be used to give permission.