mood (n.)

A term used in the theoretical and descriptive study of SENTENCE/ CLAUSE types, and especially of the VERBS they contain. Mood (modality, or mode) refers to a set of SYNTACTIC and SEMANTIC CONTRASTS signalled by alternative PARADIGMS of the verb, e.g. INDICATIVE (the UNMARKED form), SUBJUNCTIVE, IMPERATIVE. Semantically, a wide range of meanings is involved, especially attitudes on the part of the speaker towards the factual content of the utterance, e.g. uncertainty, definiteness, vagueness, possibility. Syntactically, these contrasts may be signalled by alternative INFLECTIONAL forms of a verb, or by using AUXILIARIES. English mainly uses modal auxiliaries, e.g. may, can, shall, must, but makes a little use of inflection (e.g. If I were you v. I was . . . ). The semantic analysis of modal verbs, and the study of their distribution in everyday speech, is a topic which has attracted a great deal of attention in LINGUISTICS, and several classifications involving such notions as necessity, possibility, certainty, etc., have been proposed. The results of such studies have implications for fields other than linguistics; for example, theoretical modal distinctions involving such notions have been a major concern of logicians.