This study considers the use of modal expressions (auxiliaries like should, can), semi-modals (e.g. have to, be likely to), and adverbials and complement-taking expressions (maybe, it is possible that ) to convey the attitudes and feelings of speaker/writers about the events they describe and the ideas they express. The topic of “propositional attitudes” thus overlaps with the domains of linguistic analysis known as “mood and modality.” This paper considers selected facets of linguistic modality in developmental and cross-linguistic perspective.