Modal verb basics
Introduction
Modal verbs are defective verbs which usually do not have the different tense forms. They usually are not alone unless the other verb is previously stated and later implied. They modify the verb that follows in some way. They usually express obligation, possibility, or ability. They do not change according to person. Thus the modal verbs do not add S in the third person. The verb following a modal verb does not use TO before it (exception—OUGHT always employs TO)
The modal verbs are:
They are can, could, may , might, must, should, ought to and shall (will and would follow the same patterns as modal verbs but express the future and conditional and are not usually included as modal verbs. Still, we will sometimes include them here with the modal verbs)
Thus we have in the present: I can, you can, he can, she can, it can, we can, they can
I can
You can
He can
She can
It can
We can
They can
‘Can’, in the negative, is ‘cannot’. With other modal verbs ‘not’ is separate from the verb. Some modal verbs use a contraction in the negative some do not. In contraction ‘not’ is joined to the modal verb. Where there is no contraction just ‘not’ is used after the modal verb.
Examples: can’t (also cannot),couldn’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t (conditional), ought not to, may not, might not, must not (sometimes mustn’t) The future ‘will’ in the negative can be ‘will not’ or ‘won’t’ (‘may’ never uses contraction and ‘might’ almost never uses contraction)
Modal verbs use inversion to form the interrogative
Can I? ‘Could I?’ etc. plus the main verb
Modal verbs can be used in tag endings (I can work, can’t I?)
Modal verbs can be used in a reply (“My new teacher can teach well”. “Yes he can”)
Alone modal verbs can be used to contradict- I can swim but John can’t or I can’t swim but John can
(note that the original sentence must have a modal verb to do this)
Modal verbs ‘can, could, might, and may’
Can, could, might, and may are all verbs which cause confusion. The problems lies in the fact that they are so similar and yet are often not interchangeable. So read on for information on how to use them.
Modal verbs in the simple present
You probably heard that ‘can’ is for ability and ‘may’ is for permission. Actually it is a bit more complicated than that. Yes, you can say ‘may I go out and play?’ but we also say ‘Can I go out and play?’ with the same effect of asking permission. These are questions using ‘can’ and ‘may’. In questions ‘could’ is considered the most polite form to ask for something. When you need help you can ask ‘could you help me?’ Still, it is ok to use ‘can’ in this situation
In the affirmative you can say ‘I can swim’. This can express ability, capacity or a granted permission. Capacity here means that you have no physical impediment while ability means you have learned to do it.
In the affirmative ‘could’ is generally the past for ‘can’. If you say ‘I could swim’ likely you mean that you knew how to swim but can’t any more. Or it could mean that you learned it and still know it. ‘I could swim when I was eight’ likely means you learned how to swim when you were eight and still know how to swim
So what about ‘might’? When do we use it? ‘Might’ is used for future possibility. ‘It might rain’ means that there is a possibility of rain. ‘May’ can serve a similar purpose. ‘It may rain’. Not much difference between ‘might’ and ‘may’ in these cases
‘Might’ is rarely used in the interrogative. ‘Could it rain?’ is employed more commonly than ‘might it rain?’. ‘May it rain?’ is not a good grammatical question. In any case we are talking about a future possibility here
Could’ is also used in the conditional as well. ‘If I had time I could do it’. The conditional expresses an unreal situation. ‘If I had time’ means you do not have time. An unreal situation is a hypothetical situation. Here ‘could’ refers to a theoretical possibility
Modal verbs (can, could, may) in the continuous present
It might be raining-possibility
It could be raining-possibility
It may be raining-possibility
(it will be raining) future-definite
He could have a heart attack-possibility
He might have a heart attack-possibility
He may have a heart attack-possibility
Due to that ‘can’ is defective:
The past for ‘can’ is ‘could’ or ‘was’ or ‘were able to’
The future for ‘can’ is ‘will be able to’
The infinitive for ‘can’ is ‘to be able’
‘I can’ is the same as ‘I am able’
Modal verbs ‘Must, should and ought to’
‘Must, should and ought to’ express an obligation of sorts. If I say ‘you must do this’ it is a strong obligation. If I say ‘you should do this’ it is softer and more of a recommendation or suggestion, ‘Ought to’ is always interchangeable with ‘should’ but is used mostly in quite formal situations. The same meanings apply in the interrogative. ‘Must I?’ and ‘should I?’
But in the continuous tenses they can express probability
It must be raining-probabliity
It should be raining-probability
He should be coming.probability
Other useful facts for using ‘must’
Due to that ‘must’ is defective, the past for ‘must’ is ‘had to’,
the future for ‘must’ is ‘will have to’,
the infinitive for ’must’ is ‘to have to’
‘I must’ is the same as ‘I have to’
‘I don’t have to go’ vs ‘I must not go’
‘I have to’ is the same as ‘I must’ but ‘I don’t have to’ is a release from obligation while ‘I must not’ is a prohibition.
The past for ‘Should, ought to, must, may, could, might’?
(Using ‘should, ought to, and must’ in present perfect)
I should have gone—regret
He must have gone—past probability
He ought to have gone—a recommendation unheeded
He should have gone—a recommendation unheeded
He could have been-past possibility
He may have been-past possibility
He might Have been-past posiblity
He would have been————————-
He will have been—————–
Using Modal verbs with the forms ‘to be able’ and ‘to have to’
Modal verbs cannot be combined with other auxiliary verbs, neither with other modal verbs, however they may be placed before forms such as ‘have to’ and ‘be able to’
‘may, might, will, should, could, ought to, must’ can be used with ‘to be able’
‘may, might, will, should, could, ought to’ can be used with ‘to have to’
Uses of ‘will’
I will come
I will be coming
I will have come
Uses of ‘would’
I would go if I had time
Semi Modals
Need, Dare
Dare and need are sometimes thought of as special modals. They are usually normal verbs using the rules that apply to other verbs but they have special uses sometimes in which they use rules normally associated with modal verbs
But they can be used without the ‘to’ before the following verbs. ‘I need to go’, ‘I dare you to go’ is normal use but it is possible to have ‘You need not come’ and ‘I dare not come’ (these do not use ‘to’ before the infinitive) They also use inversion in infinitive—Need I go?, dare he come?’ In the negative we can say ‘you needn’t come’
Had better
There is also the special verb form ‘to have better’ which also does not use ‘to’ before the infinitive as in ‘You had better come’ (here ‘had’ is used in past tense even though the thought is not in the past and is similar to saying ‘you should’)
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