The modifier МОЖНО (ONE CAN / MAY): its submodi, conditions of realization, and time extention

Abstract
The article dwells on the problem of identification and description of the submodi of the modal modifier можно (one can / may). The utterances with the lexeme можно (one can / may) from the works of S. T. Aksakov, V. P. Astafyev, I. A. Bunin, A. P. Chekhov, F. M. Dostoyevsky, I. A. Kuprin, M. Yu. Lermontov, V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, V. S. Pikul’ etc. serve as the empiric material for the analysis. This analysis is based on the data taken from explanatory dictionaries. It takes into account the type of a potential situation, as well as the syntactic form of the time modifier and its semantics. The attention is focused on the specification of the subject and the characteristics of the context. The submodus возможно ( it is possible ) is a value judgment which does not exclude a possibility for a potential situation to be realized provided attending circumstances or the characteristics of the object correlate with its predicate. The submodus позволительно ( it is permissible ) is a value judgment which implies the possibility of realizing a potential situation on condition that relevant outer characteristics of the object and moral principles of a person correlate with its predicate. The circumstances recognized as having no obstacles in the way of realizing a potential situation bring the case to the submodus допустимо ( it is admissible ) on condition that the subject is apt to analyze the social and political context he or she is facing as well as the characteristics of the social environment related to the object. The submodus разрешено ( it is allowed ) is a value judgment which implies no obstacles for the situation to be realized under attending domestic and social conditions. The markers of the submodus предположительно ( it is supposed ) is a class of units which is lexically limited, it includes only the words which are compatible with predicates containing the seme ‘mental representation’. The submodi возможно ( it is possible ) and позволительно ( it is permissible ) are characterized both by actuality (also referred to as usuality) and non-actuality (also referred to as timelessness) while the submodi допустимо ( it is admissible ), разрешено ( it is allowed ), предположительно ( it is supposed ) convey only hic et nunc meanings proper to usuality. Both the specific and generalized character of the subject are elicited in the submodi возможно ( it is possible ) and позволительно ( it is permissible ); the generalization is characteristic of the submodi допустимо ( it is admissible ) and предположительно ( it is supposed ); the specification is relevant to the submodus разрешено ( it is allowed ).

Keywords: submodus, it is possible, it is admissible, it is permissible, it is supposed, it is allowed, actuality / non-actuality, specification / generalization