Łaciński genetivus possessivus (proprietatis) a modalność

The paper seeks to interpret the est + genetivus possessivus (proprietatis) construction as a marker of the two subtypes of event modality, i.e. deontic and dynamic modality. This distinction is made on the basis of the typology proposed by F. R. Palmer (2001). The difference between deontic and dynamic modality ‘is that with deontic modality the conditioning factors are external to the relevant individual, whereas with dynamic modality they are internal’ (Palmer 2001: 9–10). Genetivus possessivus as a marker of deontic modality represents obligation ‘emanating from an external source’, whereas as a marker of dynamic modality it expresses ability ‘which comes from the individual concerned.