| List of Abbreviations | 第1-10页 |
| Abstract | 第10-13页 |
| 摘要 | 第13-15页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第15-21页 |
| ·Research Background | 第15-16页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第16-17页 |
| ·Research Purpose and Significance | 第17页 |
| ·Methodology | 第17-19页 |
| ·The Overall Structure of the Thesis | 第19-20页 |
| ·A Summary | 第20-21页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第21-36页 |
| ·An Overview of the Cardiff Grammar | 第21-26页 |
| ·A Brief Introduction to the Cardiff Grammar | 第21-24页 |
| ·Studies on the Cardiff Grammar Abroad | 第24-25页 |
| ·Studies on the Cardiff Grammar at Home | 第25-26页 |
| ·An Overview of Modality | 第26-34页 |
| ·Definitions of Modality | 第26-27页 |
| ·Perspectives of Modality | 第27-34页 |
| ·Modal Logic | 第27-28页 |
| ·Linguistics | 第28-34页 |
| ·A Summary | 第34-36页 |
| Chapter 3 Theoretical Framework | 第36-46页 |
| ·The Operator Test in the Cardiff Grammar | 第36-37页 |
| ·Metafunctions vs. Strands of Meaning | 第37-40页 |
| ·Studies on Modal Verbs in the Cardiff Grammar | 第40-45页 |
| ·A Summary | 第45-46页 |
| Chapter 4 The Applied Analysis of Modal Verbs in Spoken and Academic Texts | 第46-74页 |
| ·The Distribution of Different Modal Verbs in Spoken and Academic Corpus | 第46-50页 |
| ·The Distribution of the Same Modal Verbs in Spoken and Academic Corpus | 第50-52页 |
| ·Meanings Expressed by Modal Verbs of High Frequency | 第52-70页 |
| ·Modal verbs expressing validity | 第52-60页 |
| ·Modal verbs expressing control & disposition | 第60-66页 |
| ·Modal verbs expressing temporal meaning | 第66-67页 |
| ·Modal verbs expressing mood meaning | 第67-70页 |
| ·The Distribution of Modal Verbs in Various Syntactic Structures | 第70-73页 |
| ·A Summary | 第73-74页 |
| Chapter 5 Conclusion | 第74-78页 |
| ·Major Findings of the Study | 第74-77页 |
| ·Limitations of the Study | 第77页 |
| ·Suggestions for Further Studies | 第77-78页 |
| Bibliography | 第78-88页 |
| Appendix | 第88-89页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第89-90页 |
| Publication | 第90页 |
