epistemic modalityepistemic modality (epistemisk modalitet): the use of modal auxiliaries to express the speaker's judgement as to whether or not something is true. E.g. Cinderella must have left by midnight. That slipper on the staircase might be hers. When modal auxiliaries are used epistemically, they may express strong probability (e.g. must), or weak probability (e.g. might). See further explanation here. In combination with the perfective aspect , epistemic modals refer to a past situation; otherwise they generally refer to the present. Epistemic modality may also be expressed by marginal modal auxiliaries (That slipper needn't be hers), or by modal disjuncts (Cinderella probably left before midnight. That slipper on the staircase is perhaps hers.). |
