ording you can use to avoid this problem. To help you interpret someone else's writing, use the above list of potential meanings, but be warned: sometimes even native speakers cannot correctly interpret the meaning of careless writing.the other hand, what can we do as writers? Are we obligated to avoid using those ambiguous modal verbs? No, not always. If the context is clear, they are the best choice because they are the most concise way to express our ideas. But we must be certain that the context is clear. For example, the following sentences are not ambiguous:
- The hurricane may come ashore near Miami tomorrow.
- The machine may break if not properly maintained.are these sentences not ambiguous? Because the sense of "obligation" is not possible in their context. So the only possible meaning is that of possibility. No human can obligate a hurricane to land at a certain place and time. Nor can a human obligate a machine to break. Thus, there is no ambiguity.when it is clear from the context that it is impossible for humans to have control over the event, then the modal verbs for possibility can be used. And when it is clear from context that the event describes an action that involves some level of obligation for human action, then the modal verbs for obligation can be used.problem occurs, however, when there is not enough contextual information available for the reader to reject one of the ambiguous meanings. The writer, of course, has all the information in his or her head. But that context may not have been expressed clearly in the text, or the reader may lack the expert level of context that the writer expects the reader to have. In that case, we cannot use modal verbs.author came to the study of each modal verb, a third problematic issue was to categorize the uses of the modal auxiliary verbs, so as to be both precise and at the same time general enough to produce manageable and meaningful results. A first way would have been to categorize the modal auxiliaries into epistemic, deontic and dynamic. But if such classification is relevant in terms of grammar it is also relatively inefficient in terms of practical communication for instance, the deontic may can be used to express either a choice between two or several elements but also something optional as in the following sentences: 3 : A sensing device measures the required parameters: these devices may be gauges, photo-electric cells, thermocouples, sensors, etc. [A choice between several elements]
Translation 3: Цей пристрій вимірює необхідні параметри: цими параметрами можуть бути, фотоелементами, термопарами, датчиками, і т.д. [Вибір між кількома елементами]
Example 4: For machining wood or brass you may want to install a switch cover (P/N 3015) to keep the fine dust out of the power switch. [Something optional]
Translation 4: Для механ...
