3.14 Modality
Rationale
Modality is another important resource for presenting ideas objectively. It is used to qualify the ‘absoluteness’ of statements (affirmative or negative) and is particularly useful in such areas as the humanities or social sciences where it is seldom possible to say that something is or is not true for everyone at all times.
Resources for expressing modality
Modal verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and certain other verbs are all grammatical forms which writers (and speakers) can use to moderate their language. These will be examined in detail, but first:
Look at the following and see if you can work out which of the above resources has been used to show a progressively more tentative statement
- Smoking is bad for you
- Smoking must be bad for you
- Smoking will be bad for you
- Smoking could be bad for you
- Smoking might be had for you.
Here modal verbs (usually referred to as modals) have been used, and it is interesting to note that a statement with the verb ‘must’ is not as strong as the plain “smoking is bad for you”. One of the uses of the simple present tense in English is to express statements of fact which are generally accepted as true. E.g. Sydney has a beautiful harbour. The use of any modal will moderate the statement to a greater or lesser degree.
Examples of other resources for expressing modality are:
| Modal nouns: | the necessity, requirement, obligation possibility, etc. |
| Modal adjectives: | possible, probable, necessary, etc. |
| Modal adverbs: | maybe (not to be confused with the modal ‘may’ + be), perhaps, possibly, certainly, definitely, etc. |
| Other adjectives & adverbs: | to qualify statements relating to quantity or frequency, words like most, many and some; often, usually and sometimes can be used. |
| Other verbs: | suggest, seem, appear, suppose, need, etc. (When used with ‘it’ to make an impersonal expression, these verbs moderate any statement which follows. e.g. The evidence suggests … It seems that … It would appear …) |
Degrees of modality
Modality allows the writer/speaker to express degrees of certainty (probability), obligation, quantity or frequency. The greater the certainty or obligation, the higher the modality:
| High modality | Medium modality | Low modality |
|---|---|---|
| Must | Will | May |
| Ought to | Should | Might |
| Shall | Can | Could |
| Has to | Need to | Would |
Note: Modals have an incomplete tense system and cannot be used in the future and often not in the past tenses. They are always followed by another verb which expresses the action/state.
| Certainty (high) | Probability (medium) | Possibility (low) | Improbability (medium – negative) | Impossibility (high – negative) |
|
Certain(ly)
Undoubted (ly) Definite(ly) |
Probable (-ably)
Likely |
Possible (-ibly)
Perhaps Maybe |
Improbable (-ably)
Unlikely Probably not |
Impossible (-ibly)
Not possible Definitely not |
| Quantity (high) | Quantity (medium) | Quantity (low) |
| Much Many (and the negative forms: No; None) | Some | A little A few |
| Frequency (high) | Frequency (medium) | Frequency (low) |
|---|---|---|
| Always Often Frequently (and the negative form: Never) | Usually | Sometimes Occasionally Seldom Rarely |
Uses and meanings of modal verbs
As is so often the case in English, one word can have several meanings and functions. ‘Will’, for example can be used for the future tense and to express medium modality, while ‘could’ can be the past tense of ‘can’ or the conditional tense. Below is a table of the most usual meanings:
| Meanings | Modals | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can | May | Might | Could | Would* | Will | Must | Should | Ought to | |
| Possibility/probabilty | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||
| Ability/potential | X | X | |||||||
| Obligation (necessity) | X | ||||||||
| Obligation (desirability) | X | X | |||||||
| Conditional | X | X | |||||||
| Permission | X | X | X | ||||||
| Future | X | ||||||||
Examples:
Possibility/probability
- Reading academic texts can be difficult at first.
- Reading academic texts may be difficult at first.
- Reading academic texts might be difficult at first.
- Reading academic texts could be difficult at first.
- Reading academic texts will be difficult at first.
note: This form is the same as the future tense, but is expressing a greater degree of certainty than the other modals. - There’s the bus. It must be 8 o’clock.
note: The negative form of a statement like this uses the verb ‘can’.
It can’t be that time already! - It’s the 29th. They should be back from their holidays by now.
Ability/potential
- I can jump puddles by Alan Marshall.
- As a youngster, Alex could (=was able to) swim 100 metres backstroke in under 2 minutes.
Obligation (necessity)
- You must finish this assignment tomorrow.
negative form: You must not open that letter.
Obligation (desirability)
- This cake is delicious. You should try it.
- You ought to read this book. It’s really interesting.
Conditional
- I wouldn’t do that if I were you.
- If only I could finish this essay on time!
Permission
- You may go now.
- Can I go now? (Everyday usage)
- Could I use your pen?
Future
- Tomorrow will be fine. (See note under possibility/probability No.5)
* Would can also be used to express habitual actions in the past
e.g. When we were kids, we would visit our grandparents in the school holidays.
note: Have you noticed how often modality has been used in this section and others. In 3.10 for example, there were seven instances of modality in four short paragraphs. This technique lets the writer express his/her ideas and attitudes without sounding too dogmatic, as well as allowing the reader more ‘space’ to formulate his/her own opinions.
Nevertheless it is important not to overuse modality in your assignments, because too much will weaken the arguments you are presenting and make you sound too uncertain of your ideas.
eg. The evidence could suggest that the behaviour of some children might occasionally be affected by watching violent TV programs.
so remember: Moderation is necessary in the use of modification!