This
paper articulates a new semantic universal for modal expressions in
natural language, dubbed the Independence of Force and Flavor (IFF).
This property accommodates counterexamples to Nauze 2008’s proposed
universal from variable-force variable-flavor modals (Bochnak 2015a,b)
and attitude verbs (Močnik & Abramovitz 2019), while still ruling
out unattested modals. It may also be seen as a form of convexity
applied to modals.