Modal adverbs are special grammatical constituents, and are always associated with pragmatic factors. These adverbs can be placed not only in dynamic sentences, but also in static phrases. They may have different pragmatic functions when placed in different syntactic positions. Within a theoretical framework based on the X-bar theory and the Theory of Clausal Pivot, this paper has analyzed the syntactic and pragmatic differences of modal adverbs in different syntactic positions. It is further argued that, according the Principle of Generalized Leftward Merger, those modal adverbs are all added...