The English Verb System – Contrastive Approach 1 November 23, 2018 Lesson 7 TYPES OF MODALITY Every English modal has its own meaning, but the meanings of modals in general could be divided into three groups: 1. Epistemic 2. Deontic 3. Dynamic
Epistemic - presents the speaker’s opinion about the possibility or necessity of the proposition - “It is possible that…” may, must, will, should, can e.g. It might be true. That will be the postman. It should be ready by now.
Deontic - denotes permission, obligation, order, promise - “Somebody is permitted / allowed to do something” must, may, ought to, can, shall, should, need e.g. Bookings must be made at least five days before departure. May I leave now? We couldn’t open the presents until Christmas morning.
Dynamic - denotes ability, willingness, sometimes habit can/could, will/would e.g. Watch me, I can stand on one leg. At school she would always sit quietly and pay attention. She just won’t do the washing-up when I ask her. I will go to see Tim.
I Determine the type of modality in the following examples: 1) 2) 3) 4)
He must be back before dark. The test should not take longer than 20 minutes. Students may use the gym. The bank will give you a new credit card. 1
5) I can ride a bicycle. 6) Bill may work for the BBC. 7) The road might be blocked. Epistemic vs. Deontic meaning Choose the right answer: 1) You should learn French. a) advice b) obligation
c) permission
2) He can read this book. a) certainty b) permission
c) ability
3) She must be the new English teacher. a) obligation b) certainty
c) advice
Many modals have different meanings depending on the context. The same modal can have an epistemic, deontic and dynamic use → creates ambiguity e.g. can Epistemic vs. Deontic vs. Dynamic I can do it. = POSSIBILITY (external circumstances allow me to do it) I can do it. = ABILITY (inherent properties allow me to do it) I can do it. = PERMISSION (human authority/ rules allow me to do it)
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