Hello, all--
I think that the "can" / "be able" debate stems not from the issue of  
modals, but rather, whether a verb requires a subsequent infinitive to  
be complete. Take, for instance, this example, which I extract from a  
paper written in my introductory composition class:

When I realized I wasn't as talented as the rest of my choir, I  
stopped to sing.

Clearly, in this case, "stopped to" has been substituted for its  
equivalent in meaning, "ceased to." Thus it's evident that certain  
terms of similar meaning require different syntax.

The same applies to "can" versus "be able." "Can" does not need to be  
followed by an infinitive; "be able" does.

Am I simply restating the obvious? Perhaps I'm missing something.

Regards,
Lauren



Quoting "STAHLKE, HERBERT F" <[log in to unmask]>:

> Bob,
>
> I said what I did about "do" because some syntacticians have use the
> facts of its synchronic behavior to argue that it is a modal.  You have
> the good sense not to be one of them.
>
> Herb
>
>
>
> Herb,
>
> You know much more about the history of the language than I do.
>
> However, I have no idea why you say the following:
>
>>>> "STAHLKE, HERBERT F" <[log in to unmask]> 11/03/07 10:41 PM >>>
> For one thing, it means calling "do" a modal, which makes no semantic or
> morphological
> sense, since "do" can take both tense suffixes and does not participate
> in the deontic/epistemic contrast true of all other modals.
>
> ******
> Unlike German, main verbs in modern English don't move for questions and
> then there is obligatory-do support for negation when there is no other
> helping verb.
>
> Why must one posit do as a modal to account for these facts?  You know
> there is another account available.
>
> Bob Yates, University of Central Missouri
>
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