K postupné modální modifikaci predikátového slovesa
On the successive modal modification of the predicate verb

Summary/Abstract: A lexical verb in the predicate position can be (and relatively often is) modified in meaning by a modal verb. The modal verb is in finite form and expresses grammatical meanings, while the lexical verb is in infinitive form and carries the main lexical meaning of the complex predicate as a whole: Všichni se můžeme bránit. (We can all defend ourselves.) It is a relatively common and stylistically neutral way of modal modification of the verb. However, two different modal meanings can also be combined within a single sentence. In such case, one modal verb appears in finite form, while the other is in infinitive: Všichni bychom se měli smět bránit. (We all should be allowed to defend ourselves.) The article focuses on the successive modal modification and on semantic and stylistic factors that can limit its actual use in speech. The article is based on the results of the corpus research.

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