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This paper describes a model of the choice of modal verbs and modal particles. The choice mechanism does not require a modality-specific input as, e.g., a modal logical formula. Instead semantic (modal force) and pragmatic constraints (speech act marking) are applied to the available information on the whole and constrain the set of modal candidates to those that are appropriate in the respective contexts. The choice model is realized in the CAN system that generates recommendations about courses of study.

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We characterize a class of indirect answers to yes/no questions, alternative answers, where information is given that is not directly asked about, but which might nonetheless address the underlying motivation for the question. We develop a model rooted in game theory that generates these answers via strategic reasoning about possible unobserved domain-level user requirements. We implement the model within an interactive question answering system simulating real estate dialogue. The system learns a prior probability distribution over possible user requirements by analyzing training dialogues, which it uses to make strategic decisions about answer selection. The system generates pragmatically natural and interpretable answers which make for more efficient interactions compared to a baseline.