had better

Question

I'm writing a paper on the rise of epistemic meanings of had better.Could you teach me the concept of epistemic?Exaple 1 You had better be studying insted of playing.Is this sentence epistemic ?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Anonymousepistemic

In linguistics 'epistemic' is used in contradistinction to 'deontic'.

epistemic: having to do with objective knowledge and/or logical matters such as deducing or surmising the truth of propositions
deontic: having to do with (subjective) interpersonal matters such as asking and granting permission or expressing obligations

Example:

Epistemic 'may': If you play with fire, you may get burned. (a logical possibility)
Deontic 'may': If you have finished all your chores, you may go out and play with your friends. (granting permission)

AnonymousExample 1 You had better be studying instead of playing. Is this sentence epistemic ?

No. It reads more like a threat, not like a logical conclusion. I would classify it as deontic. Actually, I'm not aware of any epistemic uses of "had better" so I don't know what you hope to find to write about for your paper.
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Incidentally, from your post, I am concerned that the topic you've chosen (or have been assigned) for your paper is far too advanced for you. If you can't spell 'example' or 'instead' correctly, I believe that the necessarily subtle analysis of sentences for whether they imply epistemic or deontic modalities may be too difficult for you. You may find it more within your abilities to do a less taxing study.

CJ

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