Stance verbs

Definition

A linguistic term (from “standing”)

“Stance” refers to the linguistic choices a speaker or writer uses to express their attitude, opinion, judgment, or level of commitment to the information being shared. It reveals how you feel about what you are saying, not just the facts themselves.

A “stance verb” is a verb that expresses the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a proposition, rather than simply presenting the proposition as true.

Inflation increased (proposition)

The evidence suggests that inflation increased. (the matrix verb tells us how the writer stands in relation to that proposition.)

Remoteness & irrealis

Assertion: “He left.”

He may have left. (irrealis)

I think he left. (stance)

Both weaken the force of a plain assertion, but they do so in different ways.

Modal introduces epistemic remoteness

He may have left.

CGEL would analyze, as an expression of epistemic modality. The proposition is presented as possible rather than factual.

The modal changes the status of the proposition itself.

A stance verb - speaker’s distance

Does not make the proposition remote.

I think he left.

Grammatically, the embedded clause he left is still an ordinary indicative content clause.

Nothing in its mood or tense has changed.

Instead, the matrix clause tells us:

"This is my belief."

So the proposition is not grammatically “remote.” Rather, the speaker distances themselves from asserting it directly.

Types of distance

In pragmatics, people talk about:

• Speaker commitment

• Epistemic distance

• Realization

Sentence	Speaker commitment	Epistemic stance	Linguistic realization
He left.	High	Assertion	Bare declarative clause (no overt stance marking)
I know he left.	Very high	Knowledge / certainty	Matrix clause + lexical verb (know) + content clause
I believe he left.	High–medium	Belief	Matrix clause + lexical verb (believe) + content clause
I think he left.	Medium	Belief / opinion	Matrix clause + lexical verb (think) + content clause
I suspect he left.	Low	Suspicion	Matrix clause + lexical verb (suspect) + content clause
He probably left.	Medium–high	Probability	Epistemic adverb (probably)
He may have left.	Low	Possibility	Epistemic modal auxiliary (may)
He might have left.	Very low	Weak possibility	Epistemic modal auxiliary (might)
It appears that he left.	Medium	Inference	Matrix clause + lexical verb (appear) + content clause
The evidence suggests that he left.	Medium	Evidential inference	Matrix clause + lexical verb (suggest) + content clause

In CGEL

CGEL. would keep them separate This is where CGEL is quite disciplined.

It would not say that think expresses “remote mood.”

Instead:

may = modal auxiliary expressing epistemic modality.

think = lexical verb heading a matrix clause.

The matrix clause semantically expresses the speaker’s belief. So they overlap in communicative effect but belong to different grammatical analyses.

A useful way to think about it

Grammatical remoteness

Resources that alter the grammatical presentation of the proposition:

• modal auxiliaries (may, might, could)

• subjunctive

• certain uses of the preterite (counterfactual/remoteness)

Discursive distancing

Resources that distance the writer from making a direct assertion:

I think… I believe… The evidence suggests… It appears that… Critics argue that…

These belong to discourse and lexical semantics.

Evidential expressions

Semantic term.

What the basis is for the proposition.

It answers the question: “How do you know?”, rather than “How certain are you?”

Assertion: He left.

According to the police, he left. (the evidence suggests that he left)

It appears that he left. (inference from observation)

Apparently, he left. (indirect information the exact source is unspecified)

English doesn’t have grammatical evidentials. Instead, it uses ordinary lexical and syntactic resources. Evidentiality in English is mostly lexical, not grammatical.

Expression	Grammar
according to…	PP
the evidence suggests…	Matrix clause + lexical verb
apparently	Adverb
it seems that…	Matrix clause
research indicates…	Matrix clause

CGEL perspective

CGEL does not have a grammatical category called evidential expression. Instead, it analyzes the grammar of the individual constructions:

According to the report (preposition + preposition phrase PP)

The evidence suggests that… (matrix clause with a lexical verb licensing a content clause)

Apparently … (adverb)

It seems that… (matrix clause with a lexical verb)

“Evidential expression” is therefore a semantic-pragmatic label: it groups together different grammatical constructions that all indicate the source or basis of the information.

Realization, the common effect

Both families answer the same rhetorical question:

“How directly am I willing to assert this proposition?”

One answers it through grammar (modality, irrealis-related meanings), the other through lexical choice (stance verbs, evidential expressions, reporting verbs). That shared rhetorical function is why they often feel similar, even though CGEL analyzes them very differently.

See also

Linguistic richness