Modal verbs II
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The verbs will,
would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, must, ought to and used to
are called modal verbs, because they convey a particular meaning or mood.
Modal verbs have some important grammatical features.
1 - Apart from can and could they
do not have past or future forms, or use any auxiliary verb (e.g. do/did) either
to make a question or a negative:
• Will she be there? • I could not help it.
An
exception to this is “used to”, which often takes did as an
alternative auxiliary:
• Did you use to be good at maths?
• Used
you to be good at maths?
2 - Modal verbs (except ought to and
used to) take the infinitive without to:
• They can't have arrived yet.
• You must have seen her.
An
alternative to can is be able to, which is used for all tenses:
• They'll be able to book the tickets
soon.
Could is used as the past simple or
conditional of can.
An
alternative to must is have to, which is used for all tenses:
• Surely you didn't have to pay!
See the
study boxes below for differences in meaning of these verbs.
Note the
short forms will not ~ won't, shall not ~ shan't, cannot ~ can't.
Dare and need can be used either
as normal verbs:
• I didn't dare (to) mention it.
• He doesn't need to borrow any money.
Or as modal
verbs:
• She daren't tell him the truth.
• You
need not cry.
See the
study box below for the different uses of need.
Must/mustn't are
used
A - To express commands or the authority
of the speaker:
• You must do what I say in future.
B - To express an internal obligation, from
the speaker's viewpoint:
• I mustn't forget to phone Jake this
evening.
Have got
to can be used in
all tenses instead of must to express external obligation, especially
rules or laws made by someone else:
• We've got to check in at least an
hour before take-off.
The modal
form needn't is usually used to express the speaker's own opinion or
viewpoint: • You needn't phone me unless there’s any problem.
Don't
need to is less
personal and is usually used to express lack of external obligation: • If
you're a UK citizen, you don't need to have a work permit.
Didn't
need to do and didn't
have to do mean that something was not done, because it was not necessary.
Needn't
have done means
that something was done, although it was not necessary.
Should/shouldn't
and ought to/oughtn't to are both used
A - to express the idea of duty or
strong advice. Should gives the speaker's subjective opinion, whereas ought
to is a little more forceful, based on objective considerations.
Other uses
of should are
B - Instead of would in formal
writing:
• I
should be glad to hear from you as soon as possible.
C - to convey an assumption:
• Jane
should have arrived at the office by now.
D - As a formal or literary alternative
to an “if” clause:
• Should
the star be ill, the concert will be cancelled.
To express
a remote possibility with an “if” clause:
• If
they should ever ask about it, tell them the truth.
And after in
case:
• We'll
hide, in case they should see us.
E - to make a suggestion or a request
for advice:
• What
should I wear to the wedding?
F - After so that, in order that, verbs
like command, insist, suggest, and adjectives like vital, essential,
necessary, anxious, to show that something must be done: • I'm anxious
that he should feel at home.
Could is
used
To express
general ability in the past:
• I
could read when I was three.
For an
achievement on a particular occasion in the past, was able to/managed to/succeeded
in are used instead:
• How
many letters were you able to write last night?
Couldn't is
used
For both general
and particular ability.
Used to and would are both used to
talk about past habits. Used to is used for situations and actions,
whereas would only refers to repeated actions:
• I used
to have a guinea-pig when I was younger.
• Lisa
would always eat porridge for breakfast.
A question
tag is composed of
An
auxiliary verb and a personal pronoun. If there is a modal verb in the main
clause, we use this in the question tag:
• They won't mind, will they? • He can swim, can't he?
Remember
that will you? is the usual question tag after a command, and
shall
we? after a
suggestion with Let's.
Exercise
1:
Complete the sentences with the correct verb: will |dare| may| be able| ought|
should| used| have|
1 -How________ you speak to me like that?
2 -He really________ admit that he is to blame for the
whole affair.
3 -When she was younger, she never________ to wear
make-up.
4 -________ I use your phone, please?
5 -Do you think he’l l________ to come up with the
money in time?
6 -Steel yourself - it’s just possible you
might________ to pay a heavy fine.
7 -The authorities________ to have investigated the
incident more thoroughly.
8 -There’s
every likelihood our candidate________ win the election.
Exercise 2:
Complete the
sentences, using the correct word or phrase from the pair in brackets.
1. You________ take
flowers to your hostess if you don’t want to. (mustn’t / needn’t)
2. She________ do
all the work herself, because nobody will help her. (must / has to)
3. I’m so tired, I
really________ go to bed now. (must / have to)
4. What a pity
you________ go now! You’ll just catch your train if you hurry, (must / have to)
5. Yesterday all the
students ________ read a poem aloud. (must / had to)
6. I was going to
book the tickets, but Angus bought them on his way home, so I _________ .
(didn’t need to / needn’t have done)
7. When I turned up
at the hospital and saw Natalia surrounded by visitors, I realised I ________
coming. (didn’t need to bother / needn’t have bothered)
8. You________________
smoke in here. It’s against the rules. (mustn’t / needn’t)
Exercise 3:
Complete the sentences with the correct
question tag.
1 We can’t see him yet,_________ ?
2 I ought to pay now,________ ?
3 Remember to lock up,_________ ?
4 You’d rather wait till next week,.
5 He must be there,_________?
6 It might rain tonight,_________ ?
7 They had to do it,_________ ?
8 Don’t tell him about it,________ '
9 Let’s have a picnic on the beach, _
10 You love him very much,_________ ?
11 I’d better not say anything,________ ?
12 We could stay overnight,_________ ?
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