Modal case
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, the modal case (abbreviated ) is a grammatical case
used to express ability, intention, necessity, obligation, permission, possibility, etc. It takes the place of English modal verb
s such as can, could, would, might, may.
This case can be found in the Kayardild language
and the other Tangkic languages of Northern Australia
.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, the modal case (abbreviated ) is a grammatical case
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
used to express ability, intention, necessity, obligation, permission, possibility, etc. It takes the place of English modal verb
Modal verb
A modal verb is a type of auxiliary verb that is used to indicate modality -- that is, likelihood, ability, permission, and obligation...
s such as can, could, would, might, may.
This case can be found in the Kayardild language
Kayardild language
-Further reading:* Evans, Nicholas. 1988. Odd topic marking in Kayardild. In Peter Austin, ed., Complex sentence constructions in Australian Languages. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. pp. 219–266....
and the other Tangkic languages of Northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.