III. DESCRIPTIVE/INTERPRETIVE FUNCTION OF MODALS: DESCRIPTIONS FROM THE SPEAKER'S POINT OF VIEW (OPINION)

3. Introduction to Modals of Probability (Predictions or Certainty)

Modals can be used to accurately express different levels of certainty about our predictions about actions, situations, or possibilities. In other words, they express how sure we are that something will happen or that something is true. These different degrees of certainty are expressed by using different modal words—they are not expressed in different forms of the same word. There are also past and future modals of certainty.

For example, if we are predicting the weather, we might want to add how likely it is to rain. What are the chances of rain? For a scientific weather report, we might use POP (possibility of precipitation) in percentage form—such as 80% chance of rain). However, in everyday usage, we would use less precise terms.

In summary, these predicative functions of modals of certainty include:

• Degrees of certainty
• Past and future forms