Hortative

In linguistics, hortative modalities (/ˈhɔːrtətɪv/ ^ⓘ; abbreviated HORT) are verbal expressions used by the speaker to encourage or discourage an action. Different hortatives can be used to express greater or lesser intensity, or the speaker's attitude, for or against it.

Hortative modalities signal the speaker's encouragement or discouragement toward the addressee's bringing about the action of an utterance.

The term hortative dates to 1576, from Late Latin hortatorius "encouraging, cheering", from hortatus, past participle of hortari "exhort, encourage", intensive of horiri "urge, incite, encourage". When encouraging others it becomes exhortative while when including the speaker it becomes cohortative.

Hortative modalities share semantic and lexical similarities with other modalities, which can lead to confusion between them. Also, hortative constructions rarely have forms that are uniquely their own. The English expression Let's, a contraction of let us, is one such construction. However, let us is used for other functions:

The modal '(have) got' is used to express obligations, but is also hortative:

Further ambiguity may result when hortative formations have many words or appear as adverbially-modified forms of other modalities:

That construction consists of might (a modal of possibility) + not (the negative marker) + want (a volitive class II modal). Forms such as this one are often misconstrued as other modalities further modified (in this case, volition negated and modified for possibility).

Many languages have imperative-hortative systems in which modalities dealing with commands and encouragement are grouped together. That is not the case in English and results in some disagreement among linguists.^[who?]