Modern English employs various modal expressions to convey possibility, necessity, obligation, and permission. This database catalogues these expressions with their key characteristics and usage patterns.
| id | modality | register | origin | strength | frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| must | deontic | formal | Old_English | 9 | 856 |
| might | epistemic | neutral | Old_English | 4 | 623 |
| should | deontic | neutral | Old_English | 7 | 1245 |
| could | dynamic | neutral | Old_English | 5 | 1467 |
| ought | deontic | formal | Middle_English | 6 | 142 |