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

Expressing 'inclination'

What are the degrees of inclination?

Inclination covers a wide range of meanings, and each area of meaning is associated with a different level of modality: high, mid and low. The degree of inclination is a reflection of the speaker's willingness to do something:

	high modality - totally committed (I am determined to)
	mid modality - partly committed (I intend to)
	low modality - willing, but not necessarily able to (I am willing to)

There are various forms used to convey different levels of inclination.

Here is a summary of the different levels of inclination, focusing on modal verbs. Note that for each of these examples we assume someone is addressing someone else in face to face conversation:

level of modality	Examples
high modality	I	will	definitely be on time in future.
	I	will	try harder in future.
mid modality	I	will	aim to be on time in future.
low modality	I	would	help you if I could, but I'll have to see.