Let's start by talking about MODALITY

MODALITY is a characteristic present in the meaning of some verbs that reflects what the
speaker is doing with language.

There are two types:

a) VOLITION (or deontic modality)

b) COGNITION (or epistemic modality)

Each of them is associated with a notion

b)
b)

and each is expressed as degrees in a scale of:

a) necessity                                                        
b) certainty

Modal Verbs:
These are auxiliary verbs that add the notion of modality to the verb: