CLASSES VI - X GRAMMAR - MODALS

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Modal verbs are used to express functions such as:

1.      Permission

2.      Ability

3.      Obligation

4.      Prohibition

5.      Lack of necessity

6.      Advice

7.      possibility

8.      probability

Here is a list of modals with examples:

Modal Verb

Expressing

Example

must

Strong obligation

You must stop when the traffic lights turn red.

logical conclusion/ Certainty

He must be very tired. He’s been working all day long.

must not

Prohibition

You must not smoke in the hospital.

can

Ability

I can swim.

Permission

Can I use your phone please?

Possibility

Smoking can cause cancer.

could

ability in the past

When I was younger I could run fast.

polite permission

Excuse me, could I just say something?

Possibility

It could rain tomorrow.

may

Permission

May I use you phone please?

possibility, the probability

it may rain tomorrow!

might

polite permission

Might I suggest an idea?

possibility, probability

I might go on holiday to Australia next year.

need not

lack of necessity/ absence of obligation

I need not buy tomatoes. There are plenty of tomatoes in the fridge.

should/ought to

50% obligation

I should/ought to see a doctor. I have a terrible headache.

Advice

You should/ought to revise your lessons

Logical conclusion

He should/ought to be very tired. He’s been working all day long.

had better

Advice

You’d better revise your lessons.

Remember
Modal verbs are followed by an infinitive without “to”, also called the bare infinitive.

Examples:

·         Shall

 

Uses of Shall:
Shall Suggestions

·         Shall I get a pizza for dinner tonight?

Offers/volunteering
That bag looks heavy. Shall I carry it for you?

·         Will

 

Rapid Decision

·         I’m thirsty. I think I will buy a drink.

Offer

·         That looks heavy. I will help you with it.

Instruction (asking for or giving)

·         What shall I do with your mail when it arrives

Promises

·         You shall be the first person to know.

Confirmation (statement of act)

·         I shall meet you there at 7.

Promise

·         Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.

Threat

·         If you don’t stop, I will tell your mother.

Refusal won’t = will not

·         She won’t listen to anything I say.

In all of the examples above, shall can be replaced by another modal verb.
Suggestion/Instructions — Should Offers — CanlCould Promises/Confirmation — Will

  ·         Should

·         Advice or Suggestion

·         Your hair is too long. You should get a haircut.

The situation likely in the present

·         Mary should be at home now. Give her a call.

Likely in the future (Prediction)

·         They should win tonight, they’re a better team.
Should + Have + Past participle

Meaning: The subject did not fulfill their obligation in the past or did not act responsibly.

·         You should have given your boss the report yesterday when he asked for it.

Should + be + verb -ing

Meaning: The subject is not fulfilling their obligation now or is not acting sensibly.

·         You should be wearing your seatbelt,

·         We should be studying for the test right now

 

If we summarise

·         There are ten types of modal verbs: can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must, ought to.

 

·         Can (or cannot/can't) shows ability, in the sense of knowing how or being able to do something. In informal situations, it expresses permission, in the sense of being allowed to do something. It also shows possibility, in the sense that an action is theoretically possible. It expresses or inquires about willingness. Lastly, in the negative, it shows inability or impossibility.

 Could (or couldn't) shows ability in the past, and expresses or inquires about permission or willingness in a more polite form. It also identifies a possibility in the present, or a possibility in the future that is dependent upon a present action. Lastly, it can be used to make requests or for giving suggestions.

 

·         May is used in formal situations to express permission, in the sense of being allowed to do something. It also expresses possibility in the present and future.

 

·         Might is used in formal situations, and also to express permission in the sense of being allowed to do something. It also expresses possibility in the present, future, and past.

 

·         Will (or won't) shows willingness or interest, expresses intention, and makes predictions. It is also used to reassure someone or help them make a decision, to make a semi-formal request, to show habitual behavior, to make a promise or a threat, and to talk about the future or the past with certainty

 

·         Would (or wouldn't) enquires about willingness, shows habitual activity, comments on someone's characteristic behavior, comments on a hypothetical possibility, and comments on a likely truth. It also is used for asking permission, making a request, and to express preferences. It can be used to talk about the past, talk about the future in the past, or to talk about a situation that is dependant upon another action.

 

·         Shall is used in England, to form the simple present for I and we, and to indicate a promise in the future. It's used in the United States to form polite questions that include a polite request for permission, and universally in formal or legal situations. It can also be used for offering someone help, for suggestions, or for asking what to do.

   Should (or shouldn't) conveys the idea of an obligation or makes a suggestion.

   Ought to is used in the same situations as should, but with a stronger sense of obligation or intensity.

  Must (or mustn't) makes a conjecture, but with some certainty. It also makes a command in a more respectful way, and it is used in similar contexts to should and ought to, but with a sense of external obligation. It can also express prohibition in the negative form.

 Should vs. Ought To
Should can be replaced by ought to without change in meaning.

 You ought to study more. 

  You should study more.

Note: ought to sounds more formal than should and is used less frequently.

We use Shouldn’t to advise not to do something, usually because it is bad or wrong.

·         You shouldn’t throw your litter onto the street.

·         He shouldn’t play with those wires if he doesn’t know what he is doing.

·         You shouldn’t work so much.

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