Actuality Entailments *

The term ‘actuality entailment’ was coined by Rajesh Bhatt in his 1999 dissertation to describe the implicative inference that arises when ability modals combine with perfective aspect. This article investigates the nature of this inference and the contributions of aspect and modality, by surveying the environments in which it is found. Prior to Bhatt’s dissertation, the literatures on aspect and modality were largely independent of each other. While some investigated whether certain aspects involve a modal component, very little work examined the interaction of distinct aspectual and modal operators. As actuality entailments question core assumptions about aspect and modality, their investigation has led to a fruitful reassessment and better understanding of both.