LEXICAL AND GRAMMATICAL MEANS OF EXPRESSING MODALITY IN ENGLISH, UKRAINIAN AND POLISH LANGUAGES

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the main means of expressing modality in English, Ukrainian and Polish languages. In English, modal verbs are not used independently, but only in conjunction with the infinitive of another verb. They do not express an action, but are only an addition to it, a commentary on what it describes, what we think about it, how likely it is to happen. They help express probability, necessity, obligation, desirability, possibility, doubt, permission, uncertainty, ability to perform the action indicated by the infinitive. Compared to the total number of verbs, modals verbs do not make up a large group at all, but they are used often. Most English modal verbs do not have equivalents in Polish and Ukrainian languages, they are intertwined with different words, sometimes express what in Slavic languages is conveyed by stress or word order in a sentence. The modal verbs can / could, may / might, must / have to, will / would, shall / should, should / ought to, to be to, need are used in English to express the probability of a certain situation, the ability to perform an action, permission to perform it, requests, abilities, suggestions, orders, obligations or advice. The authors draw attention to the fact that modal verbs are a separate class of verbs that have certain linguistic features (do not have infinitive forms, do not have endings - (e)s in the third person singular of the present tense). In the Ukrainian language, the person is expressed by using pronouns, and in the Polish language – by personal endings, without the use of a pronoun. It is difficult to learn English modal verbs. The wide range of meanings they can express – from prohibitions and permissions, through expectation and probability, to confidence and readiness to do or not do something, cause problems for translators. Modality is considered by the authors as a language function used to define possible situations. Knowledge of modal verbs affects the ability to behave verbally in various situations of communication and translation, taking into account the lexical and grammatical aspects of a specific language.