Epistemic modality and aspect contingency in Armenian, Russian, and German

This study compares modality and aspect patterns in Armenian and Russian with German, paying special attention to the existence of modal verbs. Armenian and Russian are both languages with strongly developed aspect. German serves as a launching point for this study because of the extensive research available on modal verbs. In my comparison of Armenian and Russian, aspect-modality patterns are described by linking the perfective aspect with root modality. Furthermore, my analysis of the separation between necessity and possibility in modality proves that both modal functions are supported by different aspect dependencies.