Hierarchy of the auxiliarization of modality: possibility > necessity > impossibility > non-necessity
Standardized
IF non-necessity is expressed by an auxiliary, THEN so is impossibility; IF impossibility is expressed by an auxiliary, THEN so is necessity; IF necessity is expressed by an auxiliary, THEN so is possibility.
Read literally, the claim is not that this hierarchy is universal, but only that it is not language-particular.Referring to Löbner 1990, Hansen suggests that the hierarchy is not only valid for auxiliaries, but for all kinds of lexemes expressing modality.The context of Hansen’s discussion is diachronic: the hierarchy specifies the relative historical order in which lexical expressions (esp. verbs and nouns) are grammaticalized as modal auxiliaries.
Read literally, the claim is not that this hierarchy is universal, but only that it is not language-particular.Referring to Löbner 1990, Hansen suggests that the hierarchy is not only valid for auxiliaries, but for all kinds of lexemes expressing modality.The context of Hansen’s discussion is diachronic: the hierarchy specifies the relative historical order in which lexical expressions (esp. verbs and nouns) are grammaticalized as modal auxiliaries.