#Modals


#This document is organised into the following sections:

#Modals and verbs
#Modals and adjectives
#Modals and locatives
#Combinations of modals, negative, and temporal markers
#Modals and negatives
#Modals and temporal markers
#Modals and two negatives

#Indonesian modals are:
#dapat 'can'
#bisa 'be able'
#boleh 'may, have permission'
#harus, mesti 'must'
#perlu 'ought to'
#mampu, sanggup 'able, have the capacity'
#sempat 'have a chance/opportunity, have the time'


#Modals and verbs

#Modals usually occur with verbs. The position of modals is always
#before the verb.

#1

Kamu boleh tinggal di sini

#2SG may live in here
#You may live here

#Ungrammatical:

#2

Kamu  tinggal boleh di sini (0! 0 0 0)

#2SG live may in here
#You may live here


#Modals and adjectives:

#3

Dia bisa sakit

#3SG can sick
#He/She can be sick

#Ungrammatical:

#4

Dia sakit bisa (0! 0 0 0)

#3SG sick can
#He/She can be sick


#5

Loncatan anak ini harus tinggi

#jump child this must high
#this child's jump must be high

#6

Kamu boleh senang

#2SG may happy
#You may be happy



#Modals and locatives:

#7

Kamu boleh ke sana

#2SG may to there
#You may go there


#Ungrammatical:

#8

Kamu ke sana boleh  (0! 0 0 0)

#2SG  to there may
#You may go there


#9

Kamu harus ke sekolah

#2SG must to school
#You must go to school


#Ungrammatical:

#10

Kamu  ke sekolah harus (0! 0 0 0)

#2SG to school must
#You must go to school


#11

Kamu perlu ke bawah

#2SG ought to below
#You should go down

#Ungrammatical:


#12

Kamu ke bawah perlu (0! 0 0 0)

#2SG to below ought
#You should go down


#Combinations of modals, negative, and temporal markers


#Many combinations of negative, temporal and modal are possible.
#According to Sneddon, the first to occur modifies the meaning of everything
#which follows within the predicate (Sneddon J, 1996:201).


#Modals and Negatives:

#13

Kamu tidak boleh tidur

#2SG NEG may sleep
#You are not allowed to sleep


#14

Kamu boleh tidak tidur

#2SG may NEG sleep
#You are allowed not to sleep


#In example 13 tidak modifies boleh tidur 'may sleep', giving 'not the case that
#(you) may sleep', while in example 14 boleh expresses the possibility of 
#tidak tidur 'not sleep', giving 'permissible (for you) not to sleep'.

#Negative can precede or follow a modal. When it precedes
#a modal, it modifies the modal. However, when it follows a modal 
#it does not modify the modal but it modifies the verb that follows it.

#15

Loncatan anak ini tidak bisa tinggi

#jump child this NEG can high
#the child's jump cannot be high


#16

Loncatan anak ini bisa tidak tinggi

#jump child this  can NEG high
#the child's jump can be not high


#17

Calon presiden tidak harus bicara bahasa Inggris

#candidate president NEG must speak language English
#presidential candidates do not oblige to speak English

#18

Calon presiden harus tidak bicara bahasa Inggris

#candidate presiden must NEG  speak language English
#presidential candidates oblige not to speak English



#Modals and Temporal Markers:


#19

Mereka sudah harus tiba jam sepuluh tepat

#3PL PERF must arrive time ten exactly
#They must be already here by ten o'clock

#20

Mereka harus sudah tiba jam sepuluh tepat

#3PL must PERF arrive time ten exactly
#They must be already here by ten o'clock

#Although 19 and 20 have a reverse word order, the meaning does not change.
#Thus sudah harus and harus sudah both mean 'must already':


#Not all combinations of modals and temporal markers are possible:


#21

Saya baru sempat istirahat setelah kembali dari Jakarta

#1SG just have.a.chance have.a.rest after back from Jakarta
#I just had a time to have a rest after returning from Jakarta


#Ungrammatical:

#22

Saya  sempat baru istirahat setelah kembali dari Jakarta (0! 0 0 0)

#1SG have.a.chance just  have.a.rest after back from Jakarta
#I just had a time to have a rest after returning from Jakarta

#Note that baru + sempat is possible in 21 but sempat + baru is not
#possible in 22.


#23

Dia masih mampu berdiri

#3SG still be.able.to BER-stand
#He is still able to stand up

#Ungrammatical:


#24

Dia mampu masih  berdiri  (0! 0 0 0)

#3SG be.able.to still  BER-stand
#He is still able to stand up


#Modals and two negatives:

#Examples 13 - 18 above show that negative can occur before or after a
#modal. The following examples show that two negatives can occur in
#the predicate.

#25

Pertemuan ini sangat penting

#meeting this very important
#This meeting is very important

kamu tidak bisa tidak datang

#2Sg NEG can NEG come
#You cannot avoid coming (to the meeting)

#26

Malaria menyerang setiap orang di Jayapura

#Malaria MeN-attack each person in Jayapura
#Malaria attacks everyone in Jayapura

Mereka tidak bisa tidak sakit

#3Pl NEG can NEG sick
#They cannot avoid being sick


#The occurrence of two negatives in sequence will be avoided. It does not matter
#what position the two negatives appear in.


#Ungrammatical:

#27

kamu tidak tidak bisa datang  (0! 0 0 0)

#2Sg NEG NEG can  come
#You cannot avoid coming (to the meeting)

 
#Ungrammatical:

#28

kamu bisa tidak tidak  datang  (0! 0 0 0)

#2Sg can NEG NEG come
#You cannot avoid coming (to the meeting)


#Ungrammatical:

#29

Mereka tidak tidak bisa  sakit 0! 0 0 0)

#3Pl NEG NEG can sick
#They cannot avoid being sick