Frontmatter -- Acknowledgements -- Table of contents -- List of tables -- List of figures -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. The notion of modality -- Chapter 2. Adjectives in the modal-evaluative domain -- Chapter 3. Data and methods of the diachronic analysis -- Chapter 4. The semantic development of the adjectival matrix -- Chapter 5. The diachrony of the clausal complement patterns -- Chapter 6. The diachrony of the complex constructions: The development of propositional complements -- Chapter 7. Data and methods of the synchronic synthesis and refinement -- Chapter 8. Synchronic constructions: Refinements of the conceptual map -- Chapter 9. Conclusion -- References -- Author index -- Subject index