THE DEGREE OF PROBABILITY OF VERB SITUATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF HYPOTHETICAL MOOD WITHIN FUTURE TIME

Žana Gavrilović

Abstract


This paper explores the idea that each of the finite verb forms available for referring to future events in English expresses a different degree of probability regarding the realization of those events. These degrees of likelihood vary in relation to the present state of affairs, allowing us to evaluate how likely or unlikely a given verb situation is to occur. The research is conducted within the grammatical category of mood, particularly focusing on hypothetical opposition within it, and is focused on how finite verb forms contribute to expressing different probability levels within the temporal sector of the future. Future time, as inherently hypothetical, is always marked by modality. Yet, it can be referred to through the unmarked mood — the indicative — which is entirely factual in grammatical terms. Thus, the future becomes accessible through the grammatical category of tense, even though its realization remains a matter of hypothetical projection.

 

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Keywords


future time, modality, tense, factual, verb situation

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejlll.v9i2.657

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