Timeline for Why does the suffix “able” sometimes have the meaning of obligation in words such as payable or answerable?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
11 events
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| Mar 3, 2023 at 7:33 | comment | added | Aki | @JK2 But, meanings don't come from nowhere. I think I have the answer thanks to John Lawler. A modal word, whether it is an adjective or a suffix, has both epistemic and deontic senses. Which sense comes up to the surface depends on the context. I even think that there could be a context the adjective able has the meaning of obligation, even though the closest example I have come up with is "You could ask before you borrow my car" from Practical English Usage by M. Swan" | |
| Mar 3, 2023 at 2:00 | comment | added | John Lawler | No, merely that it's a modal word. Obligation, like permission, is a matter of the meaning of individual modals in individual contexts. | |
| Mar 3, 2023 at 1:56 | comment | added | JK2 | @JohnLawler Are you suggesting that the adjective able can denote obligation? | |
| Mar 2, 2023 at 20:39 | comment | added | JK2 | @Aki It's one thing to think that there is some connection between the adj. able and the suffix able, but it's an entirely different thing to assume that you should be able to explain why the suffix has some other meanings than the adjective. | |
| Mar 2, 2023 at 14:57 | comment | added | John Lawler | Both the adjective able (mostly as a predicate adjective with infinitive complement He's able to do that now) and the suffix -able from the same source are modals semantically, and have several meanings (and many idioms). Modality is a very complex topic. | |
| Mar 2, 2023 at 11:16 | comment | added | Aki | I think he talks about modality in general. You assume there is no connection between the adjective and the suffix. Do you also think there is no connection between the adjective full and the suffix -ful? | |
| Mar 2, 2023 at 9:26 | comment | added | JK2 | @Aki No, John Lawler didn't talk about the adjective able. He only talked about the suffix. It's not a legitimate question, because you erroneously assume that the suffix -able must have a meaning corresponding to the adjective able. | |
| Mar 2, 2023 at 5:52 | comment | added | Aki | So, why is that? I think it is a legitimate question. Do they have different etymological origins, for example? Or, the adjective able too has the meaning of obligation, which I think John Lawler's answer suggests. | |
| Mar 2, 2023 at 5:26 | comment | added | JK2 | @Aki Just because an adjective has a certain meaning doesn't mean a suffix with the same or similar form as the adjective should have the same meaning. | |
| Mar 2, 2023 at 5:14 | comment | added | Aki | I don't ask "Why does the suffix -able sometimes have the meaning of capability?" because the adjective able has the meaning. | |
| Mar 2, 2023 at 5:05 | history | answered | JK2 | CC BY-SA 4.0 |