| 摘要 | 第4-5页 |
| Abstract | 第5-6页 |
| 1 Introduction | 第9-14页 |
| 1.1 Background and Significance of the Present Stuay | 第9-11页 |
| 1.2 Objectives and Research Questions of the Present Study | 第11页 |
| 1.3 Methodology and Data Collection | 第11-12页 |
| 1.4 Organization of the Thesis | 第12-14页 |
| 2 Literature Review | 第14-32页 |
| 2.1 Definitions of Modality | 第14-15页 |
| 2.2 Previous Studies of Modality Abroad and at Home | 第15-24页 |
| 2.2.1 Studies from the Semantic Perspective | 第16-19页 |
| 2.2.2 Studies from the Cognitive Perspective | 第19-23页 |
| 2.2.3 Studies from the Pragmatic Perspective | 第23-24页 |
| 2.3 Previous Studies of "Will" and "Yao" | 第24-30页 |
| 2.3.1 Previous Studies of "Will" and "Yao" | 第24-27页 |
| 2.3.2 Kissine's Study of "Will" | 第27-30页 |
| 2.4 Summary of Previous Studies | 第30-32页 |
| 3 Diachronic Development of "Will" and "Yao" | 第32-38页 |
| 3.1 Diachronic Development of "Will" | 第32-34页 |
| 3.1.1 "Will" in Old English Stage | 第32页 |
| 3.1.2 "Will" in Middle English Stage | 第32-33页 |
| 3.1.3 "Wil" in Modern English Stage | 第33-34页 |
| 3.2 Diachronic Development of "Yao" | 第34-38页 |
| 3.2.1 "Yao" in Old Chinese Stage | 第35-36页 |
| 3.2.2 "Yao" in Middle Chinese Stage | 第36页 |
| 3.2.3 "Yao" in Modern Chinese Stage | 第36-38页 |
| 4 Findings and Discussions | 第38-52页 |
| 4.1 Changes in the Development | 第38-44页 |
| 4.1.1 Semantic Change in the Development | 第38-40页 |
| 4.1.2 Morphology Change in the Development | 第40页 |
| 4.1.3 Modality Change in the Development | 第40-41页 |
| 4.1.4 Grammaticalization in the Development | 第41-44页 |
| 4.2 Mechanisms of Semantic Change of "Will" and "Yao" | 第44-49页 |
| 4.2.1 The Classification of Mechanisms | 第44-46页 |
| 4.2.2 The Mechanisms of "Will" | 第46-48页 |
| 4.2.3 The Mechanisms of "Yao" | 第48-49页 |
| 4.3 Contrastive Analysis of "Will" and "Yao"Based on the Grammaticalization | 第49-50页 |
| 4.3.1 The Similarities of Grammaticalization between"Will"and"Yao" | 第49-50页 |
| 4.3.2 The Distinctions of Grammaticalization between"Will"and"Yao" | 第50页 |
| 4.4 Reasons for Their Evolutionary Similarities and Distinctions | 第50-52页 |
| 5 Conclusion | 第52-55页 |
| 5.1 General Summary | 第52-53页 |
| 5.2 Implications and Recommendations | 第53-55页 |
| Bibliography | 第55-58页 |
| 攻读硕士学位期间发表学术论文情况 | 第58-59页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第59-60页 |
