Conditionals and Prediction: Time, Knowledge and Causation in Conditional Constructions: 87 (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, Series Number 87) - Softcover

Dancygier, Barbara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521024161 ISBN 13: 9780521024167

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2008

Synopsis

This book offers a new and in-depth analysis of English conditional sentences. In a wide-ranging discussion, Dancygier classifies conditional constructions according to time-reference and modality. She shows how the basic meaning parameters of conditionality correlate to formal parameters of the linguistic constructions which are used to express them. Dancygier suggests that the function of prediction is central to the definition of conditionality, and that conditional sentences display certain formal features which correlate to aspects of interpretation. Although the analysis is based primarily on English, it provides a theoretical framework that can be extended cross-linguistically to a broad range of grammatical phenomena. It will be essential reading for scholars and students concerned with the role of conditionals in English and many other languages.

About this title

Book Description

This book offers an in-depth analysis of English conditional sentences. Dancygier classifies conditional constructions according to time-reference and modality. Focused on English, the study also provides a framework that can be extended to a range of grammatical phenomena in many other languages.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521024161
• ISBN 13: 9780521024167
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 228