Indicating obligation and willingness
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Using adjectives to indicate willingness | page 2 of 5 |
Degrees of willingness
Note that different adjectives are typically used to express varying degrees of willingness (high, mid and low). The degree of willingness is a reflection of the speaker's level of commitment to the course of action.
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At the highest level, due to their strong willingness the speaker
or person referred to is totally committed to the course of action, eg I am determined
to ... This can be glossed as: determination. |
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The mid level is mid willingness and at this level the speaker or
person referred to is partly, but not completely committed to the course of action, eg I
am keen to ... This can be glossed as: intention. |
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The bottom level is low willingness, and at this level the speaker or person referred to is willing to follow the course of action, but may have some reason for not particularly wanting to, eg I am willing to ... This level can be glossed as acceptance. |
Note that adjectives such as keen can be used to indicate both determination and intention. The level of willingness depends on the context and the addition of intensifying adverbials:
Knighton is keen at all costs to avoid a court case. (Microconcord Corpus A)
The mainlanders are crazy about puppies. They do not quite understand how to appreciate a dog but they are very keen on owning one. (SCMP 6/8/92)
In these examples, the speaker could have substituted determined with no great difference in meaning. Contrast this with the following use of keen, where the context indicates intention, rather than determination:
The authorities are keen to address these two problems, hoping that the popular pressure for change can be contained. (Microconcord Corpus A)
Introduction
Degrees of willingness
