Lexical associations of modal verbs in English love songs

Abstract

This study explores the use of modal verbs in English songs. Specifically, it aims to investigates the collocations of modals and lexical verbs in the English songs, the frequencies of each group, the grammatical aspects of voice and aspect commonly associated with these combinations.  Data consists of 250 widely-circulated songs in English, qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. The findings reveal activity verbs and mental verbs as the most common; in addition, the modal verbs are most frequently used to express volition and prediction. As regards aspects, the combination of modals and perfect aspect accounts for the highest proportion. The findings hold pedagogical implications to the use of English songs in teaching and learning of EFL.