double modal

English

Noun

double modal (plural double modals)

(grammar) A sequence of two modal verbs, such as "might could", an impossible construction in standard English, but one used in some dialects, especially Southern US English.
- 2019, Irina S. Lebedeva, Svetlana N. Orlova, “Semantics and pragmatics of the double modal ‘might could’”, in Training, Language and Culture, volume 3, number 2, →DOI:
  The first instances of double modals date back to the seventeenth century.

Synonyms

stacked modal

See also

modal stacking

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