Grammar: Groups & phrases: Verb group: Adjusting interactions: modality

Overview

What is modality?

Modality is a grammatical resource which allows a speaker to avoid having to say absolutely yes or no, It is! or It isn't!, ie it allows us to position ourselves somewhere in between, with a 'maybe' or a 'sometimes'.

Things do not happen 100% of the time, and we are seldom 100% sure about anything, so we need some way of indicating how often something happens (usuality) and how certain we are about something (probability). Between the absolute black and white of It is! and it isn't! we find a range of meanings:

Modality is not only concerned with usuality and probability. When we ask someone to do something (or tell them not to do something!), we need some way of indicating the degrees of 'obligation', which range from issuing a formal command, through gentle advice, to granting permission. So between the absolute black and white of Do this! and Don't do that! we can see a range of meanings (you must, you should, you may). Also, when we offer or agree to do something, we need some way of indicating the degrees of 'inclination', which range from being absolutely determined, to being merely willing. So here, between the absolute black and white of I will do this and I will not do this we can see a range of meanings (I will, I might).

These examples help to illustrate what we mean by 'modality', what in language can be compared to the grey area in between black and white. To summarise, modality covers the following areas of meaning:

	probability
	usuality
	obligation
	inclination
	ability

Focus on the verb group

As part of the verb group we often find a modal auxiliary:

The modal auxiliary changes the meaning of the verb by indicating the speaker's or writer's degree of certainty that something is the case, or is likely to happen, or how willing they are to do something, or to have something done.

It may help to consider a couple of examples, one dealing with probability, the other dealing with obligation.

Expressing probability

One of the most important aspects of interacting with others involves sharing our opinions and stating our viewpoint on things. This includes expressing our judgements about 'probability', ie what we think is likely to happen, based on our world knowledge and our understanding of the immediate situation:

Expressing obligation

When we interact with others, we often express 'obligation', ie, what we think should happen, especially when we want people to do something. In the example below, Granny Gong is in a position of authority and her attitude to the children is that they must obey her, she does not want to argue with them:

How can these files help me?

Modality is an extremely important aspect of language, and traditionally has not been given much attention in the English language classroom. This is unfortunate, because it means that students are not always able to detect subtle meanings when they read and listen.

These files will help you to understand how we use grammatical resources to adjust our interactions with others in speech and writing. This understanding will enable you to better help your students to respond critically to texts as readers and as listeners, and to help them become more effective communicators.

Modality and politeness

When we express our viewpoint, we generally provoke a reaction, ie we expect someone to indicate that they either agree or disagree with our opinion, that they agree or refuse to help us. However, normally we don't want to sound too blunt - imagine how rude we would sound if we only said things like: Do this! or Don't do that! Or when giving information, if we only stated our opinions in absolute 100% terms such as It is! or It isn't! Therefore, we use modal auxiliaries to help smooth our interactions with others.

When students make mistakes in this area they will often be perceived as rude. When native speakers of English encounter learners they are usually very tolerant of poor pronunciation and grammatical mistakes involving things like subject-verb agreement. However, native speakers are notoriously intolerant of mistakes in personal interaction strategies involving modality.

If you would like some practice in identifying examples of rude or blunt language use, click here:

For PrimeTeach teaching activities which provide KS2 students with practice in using can and must, see:

Playground games

For more information, see:

Text types: Recounts: Expressing feelings and opinions

Tell me more ... What do we mean by adjusting our interactions with others? How do we express modal meanings? Focusing on modal auxiliary verbs within the verb group Other ways of expressing interpersonal meanings