Grammatical modality and mean of expressing it

Grammatical (syntactic) modality is of common nature in English and Ukrainian as well. It expresses actions viewed upon as real, unreal, optative, hypothetic, conditional, interrogative, incentive. The principles means of expressing are mood form of the verb (indicative, imperative, subjunctive).

Mean of expression in English and Ukrainian of optative (wishful), incentive, subjunctive modality.

Way of expressing the meaning of optative modality. (бажальна)

The main ways and means are syntactic: sentence structures, the use of auxiliary and modal verbs (to be, should, could, let), utterance intonation.

Ukrainian modal particles: б, би, аби, щоби, бодай, десь, хай, хоч, чи не, коли б. Я її либонь побачу. – I might see her.

жаль, шкода – wish with regret. I wish I had met him when he was younger. – Шкода, що я не зустріла його, коли він був молодшим.

б/би – I would like he were a tree or a flower. – Хотів би я, щоб він був деревом чи квіткою.

Way of expressing incentive modality (спонукальної).

It is often expressed through the modal verb let – хай, нехай. Let each tailor mend his own coat. – Хай кожен займається своєю справою

Particle long with may and corresponding intonation expresses хай, хай же exclamatory Ukrainian sentences. May our Motherland live long! – Хай же квітне наша Батьківщина!

Ways of expressing subjunctive modality are mostly common with this employed to express optative modality: could, should, would, might, would rather, would sooner.

some particle б/би, conjunction якби

Should Carry come, ask her to wait. – На випадок, якби прийшла Керрі, попросіть її зачекати.

If (якби, коли б)

If had any stranger been prowling round the house, he would have been seen by the servant or the keepers. – Никав би був хтось сторонній попід будинком, його був би помітив слуга чи то сторожі.