Oppositions of objective and subjective modal markers in Portuguese

The article develops a semiotic view on modality in a language trying to build a gradual hierarchy of modalities comprising two levels - the referential and the pragmatic one. Each modality level is based on an antinomy of categories graduating modality depth 1) between the reference and the predication or 2) between the communicative address and the author, respectively. Generally, any modality means an attenuation of the sign’s reference and a reinforcement of the authorial acquisition of the sign. Articles, deictic pronouns, verbal tenses and moods are the markers of modalities in Portuguese.