Evidentiality is a grammatical mood that expresses the type of evidence on which the speaker bases a statement. Direct evidentials are used when the speaker has first-hand evidence that the incident occurred, such as visual, auditory, or other first-hand evidence; these three subtypes may or may not be distinguished, depending on the language. Indirect evidentials are used when the speaker is not a first-hand witness, but instead learns the information through inference (known as inferential evidential) or a second-hand source (quotative/reportative evidentials).

Types:

NoEvid: The language does not have a grammaticalized form to express evidentiality.[1]

EvidAff: Evidentiality is marked by the use of clitics or affixes.[2]

EvidParad: Evidentiality is a feature of the verbal paradigm.[3]

EvidPart: Evidentiality is marked by the use of specific particles.[4]

EvidModMf: Evidentiality is marked by the use of modal morphemes, such as modal affixes or modal auxiliaries.[5]

EvidMix: Evidentiality is marked by the use of a combination of the strategies listed above.[6]

[1] If this value applies to a language, it applies by default in the parameter Evidentiality.

[2] A clitic can attach to any word class.

[3] Usually a distinct verbal mood, evidentiality generally applies to the past tense, although it may also be used in other tenses. The distinction may also be partial; some tenses express definite evidentiality, while others are ambiguous in terms of evidentiality.

[4] Specific particles generally mark indirect rather than direct evidentiality, although some exceptions can be found, such as for direct visual evidentials in particular.

[5] These morphemes do not have to code evidentiality exclusively; in some languages, there is an overlap with the irrealis or subjunctive moods. The function(s) of the modal morpheme should be detailed in the commentary.

[6] For example, evidential particles and inflection may occur simultaneously. The combination should be detailed in the commentary.