MEANS OF EXPRESSING MODALITY IN FORMAL STYLE OF THE MODERN ENGLISH LANGUAGE (ID:933847)

Today, modality is one of the most studied phenomena in linguistics. Like most linguistic concepts, it is ambiguous, and modern Ukrainian and foreign scholars interpret modality differently. As noted in the modern linguistic encyclopedia, modality (from the Latin Modus -"method of measurement") - is a functional-semantic category that expresses different types of thoughts related to reality, and different types of subjective qualification messages [10, p. 303]. Linguistics has come a long way in the study of modality. The first definition of modality is found in the linguistics dictionary by O. Akhmanova, who considers the modality as a conceptual category with the value of the speaker's attitude to the content of expression and the relationship to the content of the statement of reality [1]. F. Palmer, a British linguist, notes that modality is one of a number of semantic and grammatical features [12]. Some scholars evaluate modality of the verbs expressing modality as something emerging from the meaning of “obligation”. M. Swan notes that modality in the English grammar expresses possibility and obligation [16]. The modern linguistic encyclopedia gives us the division of the types of modality: • hypothetical (suppositional) modality, which involves the representation content of the statement as alleged; • verbal modality . Modality is expressed by the verb; • unreal modality - when the representation content of the statement is impossible, impracticable • negative modality – the representation of a content of the statement is untrue [10, p. 303]. Each scholar had different views on modality. Therefore, it is not surprising that everyone distinguishes their types. For example, a Russian scientist Zaynullin M.V In his book "Modality as a functional-semantic category" divide the modality into the following semantic types: • modality of the possible and the impossible (potential modality); • tentative (hypothetical) modality; • incentive (imperative) modality; • modality of necessity and of duty (debitive modality); • modality of intent (intentional modality); • desirable (optative) modality [18]. The problem of modality was studied by such researchers as M. A Bloch, F. Palmer, E.V. Gordon, I.B. Morozova, N.M. Raevskaya, I.V. Korunets and others. For example, E. Morokhovskaya and L.G. Verba studied the main features of modal verbs, E.M. Gordon and I.B. Morozova denoted semantics, N.M. Raevskaya - the main functions of modal verbs, I.V. Korunets - ways and means of expressing modality in English and Ukrainian. In the works of Frank Robert Palmer, modality is associated with mood and with modal markers, such as English modal verbs. The theme of the term paper is the expression of modality in English. The subjects of research are modal words in modern English as the basic lexical means of expressing modality. The relevance of the research is driven by the need to complete the theoretical consideration of the categories of modality, means of expression, organization of modal words, determination of their status. In linguistic science modal words and word-combinations are considered to be one of the most controversial at lexically and grammatical level and attract the attention of scientists from the second half of the 20th century. However, the modal words have still not been fully explained due to their complexity, specificity of language expression and functional features.