Discourse effects on the choice of modal adverbs in English
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36505/ExLing-2012/05/0029/000235Keywords:
modal adverb, synonym, function, discourse, questionnaire studyAbstract
This study examines modal adverbs from a functional perspective, focusing on four synonymous expressions: doubtless, no doubt, undoubtedly, and without doubt. Utilizing a questionnaire-based method, this paper aims to determine two primary factors regarding their patterns of occurrence: (i) whether they occur in the initial position or elsewhere in a clause; and (ii) whether the subject of the clause in which they appear is a pronoun or a full noun phrase (NP). The results of our analysis reveal that, compared to the other adverbial expressions, no doubt functions distinctively at the discourse-pragmatic level, and the factors influencing its usage are strongly associated with the structural parameters of two different kinds of discourse.
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