Modality (semantics) in the context of "Tense–aspect–mood"

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⭐ Core Definition: Modality (semantics)

In linguistics and philosophy, modality refers to the ways language can express various relationships to reality or truth. For instance, a modal expression may convey that something is likely, desirable, or permissible. Quintessential modal expressions include modal auxiliaries such as "could", "should", or "must"; modal adverbs such as "possibly" or "necessarily"; and modal adjectives such as "conceivable" or "probable". However, modal components have been identified in the meanings of countless natural language expressions, including counterfactuals, propositional attitudes, evidentials, habituals, and generics.

Modality has been intensely studied from a variety of perspectives. Within linguistics, typological studies have traced crosslinguistic variation in the strategies used to mark modality, with a particular focus on its interaction with tense–aspect–mood marking. Theoretical linguists have sought to analyze both the propositional content and discourse effects of modal expressions using formal tools derived from modal logic. Within philosophy, linguistic modality is often seen as a window into broader metaphysical notions of necessity and possibility.

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Modality (semantics) in the context of Grammatical categories

In linguistics, a grammatical category or grammatical feature is a property of items within the grammar of a language. Within each category there are two or more possible values (sometimes called grammemes), which are normally mutually exclusive. Frequently encountered grammatical categories include:

  • Case, varying according to the relations between the participants in an action (e.g. subject, object, possession, direction, accompaniment etc.).
  • Noun classes, such as gender, animacy, and so on.
  • Number, varying according to the number of things (e.g. singular or plural).
  • Tense, varying according to when an action takes place (e.g. present, past or future).
  • Aspect, varying according to the state of an action in relation to time (e.g. completed, ongoing, repeated, habitual etc.).
  • Mood and modality, varying according to the speaker's attitude towards an action and its relation to reality (e.g. statement of fact, hypothetical, questioning, ordering, suggesting etc.).
  • Voice, varying according to the role taken by each participant in an action (e.g. active or passive).

Although the use of terms varies from author to author, a distinction should be made between grammatical categories and lexical categories. Lexical categories (considered syntactic categories) largely correspond to the parts of speech of traditional grammar, and refer to nouns, adjectives, etc.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Grammatical categories ← Grammatical category
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Linguistics → Philosophy → Modal verb → Modal adverbs → Modal adjective → Counterfactual conditional → Propositional attitude → Evidentials → Habitual aspect → Linguistic typology → Tense–aspect–mood → Modal logic →