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A study on epistemic modal elements expressed in the selected State of the Nation Address of Ghana
Universal Journal of Literature and Linguistics
| Vol 4, Issue 1
Table 3. Comparative Analysis of FrequencyDistribution of Epistemic Modality in the 2 Speeches
| Modal Verbs & Elements | 2001 Speech | 2008 Speech | Total Occurrence |
| Would | Tentativeness 1 | Tentativeness 3 | 4 |
| May | -- | Certainty 3 | 3 |
| Will | Tentative 2Certainty 1 | - | 1 |
| Should | -- | Certainty 1 | 1 |
| Might | -- | Certainty 2 | 3 |
| Could | -- | Tentative 1 | 1 |
| Modal adjuncts | Certainty 2 | Certainty 5Uncertainty 2 | 72 |
| Temporality | Certainty 9 | Certainty 55 | 64 |
| Mood adjuncts | Certainty 4 | Certainty 21 | 25 |
| Total | 17 | 93 | 111 |