Exploring Modal Auxiliaries Through Motion Charts Creating motion charts with historical American English data reveals interesting trends in modal auxiliaries. The graph displays the usage of 'may' and 'might,' showing that while 'say' is frequently used with 'may', it declines over time, whereas its association with 'might' increases. Additionally, verbs like ‘love’ and ‘look’ illustrate their dual roles as nouns or verbs, highlighting shifts in language use from nominal to verbal forms across decades.
Shifts in Complement-Taking Verbs Over Time The analysis extends to complement-taking verbs such as try and enjoy, categorized by their syntactic options—infinitives versus noun phrases. While frequent verbs maintain stable patterns over time, less common ones exhibit notable changes; for instance, the verb "confirm" shifted from primarily using noun phrases to favoring that-clauses significantly since the 1920s. Similarly, "dislike" transitioned away from infinitive constructions towards more modern usages involving clauses.