The
Modal auxiliaries
WILL, SHALL, MAY, MIGHT, CAN, COULD, MUST, OUGHT TO, SHOULD, WOULD.
WILL and SHALL
WILL and SHALL + the infinitive of the verb (shall is rarely used in modern
English) are used to form the future:
shall go
She
will go to London next year.
They will visit us next August.
Sometimes SHALL can indicate obligation or a promise. In this case 'shall'
is usually stressed in the pronunciation of the
He
shall go to school! (obligation)
I
shall ask him ! (promise)
WILL + infinitive means future :
Examples:
a.
Simon will leave for Poland tonight.
b.
His next trip will be to Australia.
c.
Lucy will change her job at Easter.
d.
My parents will celebrate their fortieth wedding anniversary next week.
MAY and MIGHT
1. MAY expresses :
a.
Permission
b.
Possibility
2.
MIGHT expresses :
a.
Possibility
MIGHT can replace MAY only when MAY is used to express possibility :
It
may rain today.
It
might rain today
Affirmative form:
She
may go to the cinema.
They might go to the cinema.
Negative form:
She
may not go to the cinema.
They might not go to the cinema.
Interrogative form:
(N.B. Permission only)
May
I go to the cinema?
May
I leave now?
A. MAY for
PERMISSION
Examples:
a.
May I watch television tonight ? Yes, you may.
b.
May I leave work at 16.00hrs ? No, you may not.
Note : Here 'may' has the same function as 'can':
Can
I help you?
May
I help you?
B.MAY and MIGHT for POSSIBILITY
Examples :
a.
We may go to dinner tonight, I'm not sure.
or
b.
We might go to dinner tonight, I'm not sure.
c.
It may snow tomorrow.
or
d.
It might snow tomorrow.
e.
He may not go to Spain this year.
or
f.
He might not go to Spain this year.
CAN and COULD
CAN
and COULD are used to express :
-CAPACITY / CAPABILITY
-PERMISSION
-POSSIBILITY.
1.
CAN
Note: CAN and COULD cannot be used in the future. The future is formed with
will be able to.
CAN
Present
She
can speak English.
They can swim.
Past
She
could speak English.
They could swim.
Future
She
will be able to speak English.
They will be able to swim .
FORM :
Affirmative
Present: can (is able to)
Past: could (was able to) Future: will be able to
Affirmative:
CAN + infinitive: I can speak French. |
Negative
cannot (isn't able to)
could not (wasn't able to)
will not be able to
Negative:
CAN + not + infinitive They can not (can't, cannot) play tennis. |
|
Interrogative: CAN or CAN NOT + subject + infinitive
Can't she dance? Can we come? |
Examples:
a. ability
i.
Howard can play the guitar.
ii.
Can Jennifer sing?
iii
.He can't understand German.
b. PERMISSION
i.
Can I park my car here?
ii.
No, you can't. It is a no parking zone.
iii. Can I go to the theatre with Michael?
c. POSSIBILITY
i.
A car can be a useful mean of transport or a dangerous weapon.
ii.
She can be very hard to understand sometimes.
iii. We can live life with a positive or a negative attitude.
2.COULD
COULD is also the conditional of CAN and is often used in polite forms.
Could you help me ?
A.
For polite requests
Examples:
a.
Could you tell me the time, please?
b.
Could you help me, please?
c.
Could I have a coffee, please ?
d.
Could we come and visit you this evening?
As the past of CAN
e.
She couldn't come to dinner last night.
f.
They could walk faster when they were younger.
g. Pierre could play the piano when he was a boy.
MUST
MUST = TO HAVE TO: To express obligation or necessity
Important!
a.
We only use 'must' in the present. For all other tenses we use 'have to'.
b.
MUST is used with the infinitive of the verb.
She
must leave immediately.
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative | |
| Present | I must go | I mustn't go. | Must I go? |
|
Past |
I had to go | I didn't have to go. | Did I have to go? |
| Future | I will have to go. | I won't have to go. | Will I have to go? |
Examples :
Present tense:
a.
I must see her tonight.
b.
She must pass her exams.
c.
They must leave before 2 p.m.
Simple Past with 'have to':
d.
I had to see her last night.
e.
She had to pass her exams.
f.
They had to leave before 2 p.m.
Future with 'will have to':
g.
I will have to see her tomorrow.
h.
She will have to pass her exams.
i.
They will have to leave before 2 p.m.
SHOULD and OUGHT
TO
a.
They are invariable.
b.
They have three main uses :
1.
Moral obligation
Examples:
You
ought to thank them.
They should be happy.
A
good mother ought to love her children.
2.Advice
Examples:
You
should not (shouldn't) eat too much.
You
ought to exercise every day.
He
shouldn't drive his car too fast.
3.Probability
Examples:
It
should be sunny on the weekend.
They should arrive before dinner.
He
is tired. He should sleep well tonight.
FORM:
Affirmative
Subject + SHOULD/ OUGHT TO + infinitive of verb
You should/ought to see
the doctor.
Negative
Subject + SHOULD NOT / OUGHT NOT TO + infinitive of verb
You shouldn't / ought not to see the doctor.
Interrogative* :
*
OUGHT TO is only used in the interrogative negative form.
SHOULD + subject + verb in the
infinitive
Should I see the
doctor?
Oughtn't she (to) see the
doctor?
WOULD
Would and the conditional
Would + rather
Would + mind
Would + like
1. WOULD is used in conditional sentences:
Examples:
I
would ask her if she was here.
They would have gone but it rained.
1.Would and the conditional
Examples:
Would + infinitive (without to)= Present Conditional.
a.
If I had the money I would buy a large house.
b.
They would visit us often if they didn't live in the country.
Would + have + past participle = Past Conditional.
c.
I would have bought a large house if I had had the money.
d.
She would have visited us if she had known that we lived here.
2.Would rather
I
would rather (I'd rather) = I prefer (to)
Examples:
a.
She'd rather go to Spain than to Italy this summer.
b.
Peter would rather you didn't come to dinner tonight.
c.
I'd rather live in a house than in a flat.
3.Would + mind
This is a polite form used to ask someone to do something for you or used to
ask permission
Examples:
a.
Would they mind visiting my mother for me?
b.
Would James mind reading my essay?
c.
Would you mind looking after my children tonight?
d.
Would you mind if I left now?
e.
Would they mind if I came with you?
f.
Would you mind if I had another coffee?
4.Would + like
Would + like : expresses desire
It
is also often used in polite forms
Examples:
a.
Would you like something to drink?
b.
She'd like some help, please.
c.
Would they like to see a film?
d.
I would like a ticket to London, please.
e. Would you like more tea?
Try the following quizzes to check you have understood.