In order to be able to give an adequate meaning description of German modal particles like 'doch', 'schon', 'auch', 'etwa', etc., F. develops in the first four chapters a theoretical framework that adapts elements from speech act theory and from ethnomethodological and Gricean approaches to conversation. In chapter 5, a description of the modal particles is given. F. shows that these particles have an indexical function: they point out certain aspects of the conversational context.