Hi
This is my bible (although I do consult other reference grammars).
A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language
Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, & Svartik
Janet
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of diane skinner
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 11:37 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Happen to (V) -- quasimodal?
Please tell me which reference are you using?
Thanks,
Diane
On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 1:43 PM, Castilleja, Janet
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> 'happen to' is on my list of semi-auxiliaries from Quirk, et al.
>
>
>
> Janet
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Spruiell, William C
> Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 12:47 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Happen to (V) -- quasimodal?
>
>
>
> I've been reading this list long enough that every time I have a
question, I
> get this sneaking suspicion that it's been discussed before and I just
can't
> find the thread - so apologies if I'm reheating leftovers here.
>
>
>
> In one of my grammar classes, a student asked what to do with a
sentence
> like, "I happened to look up right at that moment." My reflex is to
treat
> "happen to" the same way I'd treat "have to," "going to" and "ought
to" - as
> a kind of modal-like combination. I'd feel better about that analysis,
> though, if I had some kind of test or set of tests I could use to
identify
> quasimodals (other than instinct; I have this gut feeling that
instinct will
> get me in trouble).
>
>
>
> Based on the three "acknowledged quasimodals" I mentioned above, it
looks
> like one criterion might be based on transitivity. While various forms
of
> "have" are transitive, there's no sense in which "I have to write a
paper"
> can be construed as analogous to "I have something"; you can't "ought
> something," and you can't "go something" either unless you use the
"become"
> sense of go, which doesn't seem at play in "going to write a paper,"
etc.
> (also, the "become" version is followed by an adjective or a noun
that's
> arguably in adjectival function, as in "go bananas"). In constructions
that
> seem to be drifting toward quasimodal status, but aren't in the
official
> list (in that traditional grammar treats them as a main verb followed
by an
> infinitival object), you can set up transitive analogues - "I want to
watch
> a movie" // "I want something"; "I started to watch a movie" // "I
started
> something." You can't "happen something," of course, so that supports
> treating "happens to" as a quasimodal.
>
>
>
> Is there a different established way to treat "happens to V"?
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance -
>
>
>
> Bill Spruiell
>
> Dept. of English
>
> Central Michigan University
>
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