MODAL VERBS
A. General Characteristics:
They are DEFECTIVE verbs, so they do not have all the characteristics of the other verbs:
1. They do not take “-s” for the 3rd person sg at Present Simple, except “need” and
“dare” which are half modals.
E.g. She can swim. She needs a bath suit.
2. They are half lexical verbs, because they have meaning, and half auxiliaries, because
they form the negative, interrogative and negative-interrogative with themselves.
E.g. You cannot speak Japanese. May I open the door? Mustn’t he enter? She might
have arrived, mightn’t she?
3. They do not have all tenses; therefore, they use replacing verbs for the absent tenses:
CAN (Present) – COULD (Past/ Conditional) – TO BE ABLE TO;
MAY (Present) – MIGHT (Past/ Conditional) – TO BE ALLOWED TO/
TO BE PERMITTED TO;
MUST - TO HAVE TO;
4. They are followed by short infinitive:
a. Present Infinitive (Vb) for an action which is simultaneous with the given
moment:
E.g. I must go.
b. Perfect Infinitive (have + Vb-III/ed) for an action which is anterior to the
given moment:
E.g. They must have gone earlier.
B. Usage:
1. To express ABILITY:
CAN/ COULD/ TO BE ABLE TO:
E.g. I can speak English.
I could speak Hindi when I was in the University.
I won’t be able to learn a new foreign language in one month.
(+ perception verbs): I can see a bird in the sky. I can’t believe it.
(+ for future arrangements): She can’t come tomorrow.
(+ informal asking for permission): Can I sit?/ Could I sit? (more formal)
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2. To express POSSIBILITY:
MAY/ MIGHT (formal) / CAN/ COULD (informal):
E.g. It may/ can be sunny tomorrow.
It might/ could have been worse.
(in questions: Can/ Could – NOT “may/ might”): Could he have taken this rode?
3. To express IMPOSSIBILITY:
CAN/ COULD
E.g. He could never be accused by theft.
4. To express OBLIGATION:
a. MUST: (It’s compulsory!) E.g. You must do your homework!
b. OUGHT TO: (civic/ moral obligation, as an unwritten law of the
community;) E.g. You ought to listen to your parents.
c. SHOULD: (advice) E.g. You should take your pills!
5. To express NECESSITY/ DEDECUTION:
MUST/ HAVE (GOT – informal) TO
E.g. You must pay this fee. (necessity);
I have to go. (necessity – something else obliges me to go)/ I must go. (I
assume that obligation)
She must have left. (logical deduction)
(For negative Logical Deduction: CAN’T): She can’t be at the door; she is in the
office now.
6. To express LACK OF NECESSITY:
a. DIDN’T NEED TO/ DIDN’T HAVE TO (the action wasn’t done). E.g.
You don’t need to water the flowers, because I have already watered them.
b. NEEDN’T HAVE TO (but, the action was done) E.g. Why did you water
the flowers? You needn’t have to, because I have just watered them.
7. To express CONCLUSIONS, WILLINGNESS, HABITUAL EVENTS:
a. Habitual events/ Habbits: WILL (for present meaning)/ WOULD/ USED TO
(for past meaning). Note: WOULD cannot be used with STATE VERBS!
E.g. She will sit on this bench hours on end and she will read her favourite book.
Mum used to/ would ride her bike when she was young.
Mary used to be my best friend when we were young.
b. To draw a conclusion: WILL E.g. No doubt you will have passed the exam.
c. Willingness/ Unwillingness: WILL/ WOULD E.g. I will keep my promise. He
would be pleased to go on holiday.
