Modal verbs form a closed class of verbs in German(ic) to the extent that have a very particular origin and property: they come from a preterit stem, have ablaut, and behave correspondingly in modern contexts. Their shift of interpretation between root and epistemicity is due to aspectual contexts. In contrast to all other verbs, verbal clusters (modal verb embedding another verb) are built without the preposition TO. Modal verbs with an epistemic reading have a syntax radically different from that of roots: they cannot be embedded, but appear only as heads of clusters.

The chapter argues that ELF users do not create new modal expressions; they rely on the rich repertoire that the English language offers to them. But those English modal expressions do not necessarily reflect the mindset of ELF users with different L1s. Rather they reflect the mindset of native speakers of English. So an attempt is made to explain the interplay of these two factors in the use of modal expressions by ELF interlocutors. It is argued that modal use in ELF is motivated by three important factors: language learning experience, effect of L1 and immediate communicative needs.