ABSTRACT
The modal auxiliaries constitute a reasonably well-defined word class which can be identified according to long-established, familiar criteria. On syntactic grounds, it is possible to restrict membership of this subset of auxiliary verbs to nine items, sometimes called the central modal auxiliaries, and their associated range of forms. The basic distinction between the epistemic and nonepistemic senses of the modals has been discussed. Most of the modals can function epistemically or nonepistemically, but vary considerably in the senses they most commonly convey This has implications for the type of adverb satellite with which they typically co-occur. There are also formal criteria which largely corroborate the distinction between the epistemic and nonepistemic functions of the modals. The semantics of the modals is an extremely complex area which has already been treated in considerable depth elsewhere.
