Timeline for What is this conditional-type sentence used to express reluctance or uncertainty?
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| May 10, 2023 at 22:15 | answer | added | alphabet | timeline score: 1 | |
| May 9, 2023 at 17:26 | comment | added | John Lawler | Sure, but then you have to define all its parameters and give tests for recognizing it. Better to be explicit than to explain implicity. | |
| May 9, 2023 at 17:22 | comment | added | Graffito | As said by @JohnLawler : "... no special name ...". Let's try "implicit hypothetical construction" ? | |
| May 9, 2023 at 14:10 | comment | added | John Lawler | There's no special name for sentences like this. The phenomenon is just another odd fact about modal auxiliary usage. The pragmatic condition ([when I feel like it / if I know how], etc.) is called an "invited inference"; that is, the addressee is invited (but not required, like a presupposition) to draw certain conclusions about the intentions and emotions of the speaker, without explicitly saying them. Invited Inference is the handmaiden of Plausible Deniability. BTW, there is no grammatical "conditional mood" in English; we use modals grammatically. | |
| May 9, 2023 at 11:56 | history | asked | Criticizing Israel not allowed | CC BY-SA 4.0 |