The effects of aspect on meaning interpretation in the online and offline processing of modal constructions

Abstract This psycholinguistic study investigates the effects of aspect (i.e., the grammatical distinction between progressive and simple) on the interpretation of English modals (epistemic versus deontic) with a view to gaining insights into the mental representation of modal constructions, specifically their schematicity degree and node structure. This overarching question is addressed through an experiment focusing on the necessity modals must , should , and have to and measuring word-by-word reaction times in self-paced reading (online processing) combined with decision times and forced choices for follow-up judgment questions (offline processing). The results show that, while the progressive is generally more inclined towards epistemic modality than the simple aspect in the offline task, the strength of this effect varies across different modals in online processing, thereby demonstrating their different degrees of subjectivity. From a constructionist perspective, this suggests that some modals have developed mid-level constructional schemas for certain meanings and grammatical forms (e.g., [SBJ must be V ing ] epistemic ), while others are processed via higher-level schemas (e.g., [SBJ V mod be V ing ] epistemic ). This demonstrates that grammatical-aspectual context is a crucial meaning-defining component within constructional networks that contributes to the formation of mid-level constructions for certain modals.