RESUMOCom base na visão de modalidade do arcabouço teórico da sintaxe descritiva, este trabalho analisou um corpus de aprendizes em comparação com um corpus de falantes nativos do inglês com o objetivo de identifi car padrões diferenciados na expressão de valores modais. Para tanto, o estudo concentrou sua análise em n-grams contendo verbos modais e advérbios que expressam modalidade. Essa análise revelou a prevalência dos valores modais epistêmicos em ambos os corpora, bem como a existência de padrões distintos na expressão desse tipo de modalidade. No corpus de não-nativos, percebeu-se uma expressão mais restrita da modalidade quando comparada à do corpus de nativos. No corpus de nativos, houve uma prevalência de advérbios com sentido modalizador. Nessa comparação, percebeu-se também um uso diferenciado de alguns verbos modais. Este estudo pode contribuir para a área emergente dos estudos linguísticos de corpora e para a área da sintaxe, com possíveis implicações para o ensino de escrita acadêmica em inglês. ABSTRACTBased on the view of modality in the theoretical framework of descriptive syntax, this study examined a corpus of learners compared with a corpus of native speakers of English, aiming to identify different patterns of expression of modal meanings, particularly, adverbs and modal verbs. Therefore, the study focused its analysis on n-grams containing modal verbs and adverbs that express modality. This analysis revealed the prevalence of epistemic values in both corpora, and the existence of distinct patterns in the expression of this type of modality. In the non-native corpus, the expression of modality is restricted when compared to the native speakers'. In the corpus of native speakers, there was a prevalence of adverbs with modalizing meanings. In addition, learners tend to use some modal verbs differently. This study may contribute to the emerging fi eld of corpora linguistic studies as well as to the area of syntax, with possible implications for the teaching of academic writing in English.

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(HALLIDAY 1985; CHAFE 1995 STUDY OVERVIEWThis paper aims at presenting the results of a research carried out with the objective of investigating whether learners of English as a second language recognized, implicitly and/or explicitly, the existence of the functional/cognitive principle of information distribution in texts. The research also checked the mastering, by these students, of a few syntactic devices related to the information and thematic structures, which are used to meet communicative demands. All this process reflects the relation between language and cognition through processes of attention and focus.We checked how equipped students are to meet discourse communicative demands by making contextually adequate syntactic arrangements in clauses. We also focused on the issue of how conscious learners are of the fact that there is an information structure, which involves the concepts of old and new information, as well as there is a thematic structure, encompassing the concepts of theme and rheme in texts.

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