Clauses of concession and Modals.

Question

Hi,Could you please explain to me wether the following sentence shows concession?-They lived in France before the war, but from that time onwards they they have lived in England.If it expresses concession so i can rewrite it using "May".- They may have lived in France before the war, but from that time onwards they have lived in England.Thanks a lot.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

-They lived in France before the war, but from that time onwards they have lived in England.

There is no suggestion of concession here. The sentence just states facts.

Clive

Angel girl1 · Answer

Thanks a lot.

I'm trying to rewrite the sentence using the appropriate modal, but I didn't find any other wording rather than "May" to mean concession.

Could you please explain?

Clive · Answer

Hi,

eg - Although they lived in France before the war, from that time onwards they have lived in England.

Have a look here.
http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-lesson-concessions.php

Clive

Angel girl1 · Answer

Thanks, but i'm learning modality, and i want to rewrite this sentence using a modal.
Is there any possibility to use a modal in this sentence?

Fivejedjon · Answer

Yes. Your sentence "They may have lived in France before the war, but from that time onwards they have lived in England" is fine.

I'll follow that with another 'may' similarly used: "I may be a teacher, but I am not sure whether those who analyse and label sentences would use the word 'concession' in talking about those two sentences."

Angel girl1 · Answer

Thanks a lot, I understand what you mean. So, could you tell what is the function of "May" in this sentence?

Clive · Answer

Hi,

-They lived in France before the war, but from that time onwards they have lived in England.

eg They lived in France before the war, but from that time onwards they could have lived in England.

Clive

Angel girl1 · Answer

Thanks, but I think the original sentence doesn't implicate the possibility. So i didn't understand why you rewrote it using could.
Could you please explain more?

CalifJim · Answer

angel girl1Could you please explain to me whether the following sentence shows concession?
-They lived in France before the war, but from that time onwards they they have lived in England.

It doesn't show concession as is, but you can make it show concession by adding "may have". Is that what you mean?

They may have lived in France before the war, but from that time onwards they they have lived in England.

Even this, however, does not make the statement unambiguously a concession. It could also mean the speaker isn't sure if they lived in France before the war.

For less ambiguity these concessions are often expressed with "although" or "even though" at the beginning, and no "but". "may have" is optional.

[Although / Even though] they ( may have ) lived in France before the war, from that time onwards they they have lived in England.

CJ

Fivejedjon · Answer

angel girl1Thanks a lot, I understand what you mean. So, could you tell what is the function of "May" in this sentence?

Sorry, I can't - at least not in the terms that I think you want. I am not a very proficient labeller.

I see 'may' here as functioning in a similar way to 'if' in the sense of 'granted that', 'accepting that' or, dare I say it, 'conceded that':

"They may have lived in France before the war (and indeed they did), but .... ."

"If they lived in France before the war (and indeed they did), then ... ."

"I may be a teacher (and I am), but ... ."
"If I am teacher (and I am), then ... ."

In these sentences, the speaker is presenting an apparently hypothetical hypothetical case in the full knowledge that both s/he and the listener know that it is a true case. Shakespeare did this in Richard II: "If that my cousin king be King of England/ It must be granted I am Duke of Lancaster." The speaker, Lancaster was saying in effect: "If you accept that my cousin is King of England, and we all know that he is, then you must accept that I am Duke of Lncaster."

Clauses of concession and Modals.

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions