Modals

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of auxiliary verb that expresses necessity, ability, or possibility in a sentence
2. Referring to verbs like can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would that modify the mood of a main verb
3. Elements that help convey varying degrees of certainty or obligation within verbal communication

Etymology: "Modals" is the plural of "modal", which came into English from Middle French "modal", itself drawn from Medieval Latin "modālis", meaning "pertaining to a mode". The Latin root is "modus", "mode" or "manner", so the word's core idea is simply a way of doing or being something. In grammar, the noun "modals" refers to the auxiliary verbs such as "can", "must" and "might" that express how certain or obligatory an action or statement is. The shift from a general sense of "manner" to a specific grammatical category reflects how the Latin-derived term was adapted to describe the attitude a speaker takes toward what they are saying.