#Cuivre (corrige-moi stp)

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tacit fjordBOT
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sleek lava
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I guess that makes sense, but « aller + infinitif » has evolved into the « futur proche » so it’s become something else entirely

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Another thing, a significant portion of verbs – perhaps a majority – can be used before an infinitive like « Il s’apprête à jouer de son violon » but « s’apprêter (to get ready, to prepare, to be about [to do something]) » isn’t a modal.

random portal
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The thing is French doesn't exactly have a thing defined as "modal verbs" (to my knowledge)
Some verbs have constructions that allow them to be followed by an infinitive, sometimes directly, sometimes with a preposition inbetween
devoir [infinitif]
vouloir [infinitif]
hésiter à [infinitif]
essayer de [infinitif]

[aller + infinitif] creates what is called futur proche. It works the same, but maybe is categorized differently?
A very similar construction is [venir de + infinitif] for passé récent. But this one uses a preposition. Would one be considered modal and not the other?
Ultimately, it just kinda depends on how your textbook categorizes what is a modal verb.

sleek lava
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If I remember correctly, modals are verbs that don’t describe action but rather a sort of state about doing that action. For example, saying « Marc dort » is a specific action: Marc is sleeping; saying « Marc doit dormir » doesn’t change the action, Marc is still sleeping, but it describes that action of sleeping as a necessity. Saying « Marc ne peut pas dormir » is also the same; he’s still going to go to sleep but it describes the action as stating his capacity (or rather, in this case, his incapacity) for sleeping

pastel seal
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I accidentally omitted part of the definition (as it was part of another phrase): "Modal verbs stand before an infinitive of another verb. They explain if someone wants to, can, likes to or is allowed to do something." désolé 😅

random portal
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right in that case "aller + infinitive" indicates the timing of the action and does not fit the definition

pastel seal
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ye

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my bad 😅

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I thought the definition ended in the first phrase

random portal
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pouvoir/devoir/savoir/vouloir are the main ones then

pastel seal
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it cites pouvoir, vouloir, devoir and préfèrer

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also falloir

random portal
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just keep in mind that the list is not exhaustive and knowing whether a verb fits the definition or not is not key.
The main thing to note is how such verbs are used in the sentence. As you study more, you'll come across more of these verbs, sometimes with prepositions as well

pastel seal
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merci beaucoup. à toi aussi, @sleek lava

fading maple
# sleek lava If I remember correctly, modals are verbs that don’t describe action but rather ...

sure, but that's not grammaticalized feature of french, while in English (and other germanic languages) there are a class of modal verbs which are grammatically distinct. Even though must and need are both semantically modal, only must is a modal verb in English. Aller indicating futur proche seems like it would fit better the description of modal verbs provided than if it retained a more literal meaning when connected to a following verb. I think this is just a case of a textbook or teacher importing a grammatical category from English (or another Germanic language) without considering if it makes any sense in French

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i don't think there's any reason that aller is less of a modal verb then devoir except that it is strictly not a modal verb in the germanic languages which have a grammaticalized modal verb

pastel seal
fading maple
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i mean i'm actually not sure that modal verbs are entirely grammaticalized in modern german either

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since the standard way of distinguishing them is the bare infinitive rather than zu infinitive

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but the same pattern is observed with sehen, even in compound tenses

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"ich habe dich tanzen sehen." z. B.

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anyway, modal verbs are clearly a distinct group in german

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but not in french

sleek lava
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I’ve just realised that we consider ‘will’ as a modal in English even though it describes the future

fading maple
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yeah, we might say that syntax and semantics were once one in the distant (read: mythical) past, but they've come apart.

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the same way that teachers confuse students by talking about the subjunctive as indicating a feeling, untruth, etc. rather than introducing the syntactic triggers as primary