The Evolution of Modalized Have Constructions 1350-1640

Abstract

Extended verbal groups with multiple auxiliaries have been a focus of grammaticalization study. An investigation through Helsinki Corpus reveals distributional development of each modal concerning modal + Have constructions from mid-14th to mid-17th century. An uneven distribution among modals and verbal group classes as well as unacceptable constructions in respect of Present Day English are most salient observations. Such gradual standardization process can be interpretable in the light of grammaticalization, but the unbalance between modals in the historical process cannot be explained away by morphosyntactic regularization but calls for analysis into semantic weights they carry.