MODAL

Modals are auxiliary verbs. They used with main verbs to give additional meaning to main verbs. The most common modals are listed below, along with some of the additional meanings that they add to main verbs.

Modals	Additional Meanings
Can	Possibility, ability, permission
Could	Possibility, ability in the past
May	Probability, permission
Might	Probability
Must	Necessity, logical conclusion
Shall	Future with emphasis
Should	Advice, obligations, prediction
Will	Future
Would	Condition

Modal verbs, also called modal auxiliaries or simply modals, are a type of auxiliary verb or helping verb. English has ten modal verbs:

can		could
may		might
shall		should
will		would
must		ought to

Modals express the mood a verb, such as ability, possibility, necessity, or another condition. They are used with a main verb to form a sentence or a question. Modals are not conjugated, have no tense, and cannot be used without a main verb.

When used with modal verbs (except ought), main verbs always remain in the infinitive without to.

In a statement the word order is subject + modal + main verb.

subject	modal	main verb
They	can	come.
Mike	should	walk.

In questions, the word order changes to modal + subject + main verb.

yes-no questions
modal	subject	main verb
Can	they	come?
Should	Mike	drive?
wh- questions
wh- word	modal	subject	main verb
When	can	they	come?
How	could	he	know?

Can

The modal can indicates possibility or ability:

Tom can help you.

Wild animals can be dangerous.

Dining out can be costly.

In questions, the modal can requests permission to do something or to ask about possibilities:

Can I help you?

Can Mike come over for dinner?

Who can answer the next question?

When can we get back the results?

Could

Could indicates possibility or ability in the past:

I could have told you that.

It could have been a disaster.

When I was young, I could run very fast.

Could speculates about future possibilities. In the following examples could and might are synonymous.

It could / might rain tonight.

That could / might be dangerous.

In yes-no questions, could speculates about present possibilities:

Could she be the murderer?

Could this be a mistake?

It can also make a request. In these examples could and can are synonymous, but could is more polite.

Could / Can you open your window?

Could / Can you help me move this sofa?

Could indicates an option:

We could go see a movie.

I could become a doctor.

The modal could is also used to form the conditional. The conditional contains an if clause and a result clause. Could is placed in the result clause.

In these examples, could expresses hypothetical situations:

If I had time, I could play tennis with you.

We could study together, if you want to.

If it weren't raining, we could go on a picnic.

Could mentions something that didn't happen because a certain condition was not met:

If we had left sooner, we could have taken the train.

I could have passed the exam if I had studied more.

I'm glad we took umbrellas. We could have gotten soaked.

Shall and Will

The modals shall/will + main verb are used to create future tenses. These modals indicate an intention or an action that is expected to happen in the future.

When used in statements, there is no difference in meaning between these two modals; however, shall is rarely used in American English.

I will / shall close the door for you.

Tom will / shall meet us at the train station.

They will / shall leave tomorrow at 8:00.

In wh- questions, shall and will ask about options.

Who will / shall drive the car?

When will / shall I see you again?

How will / shall you get here?

What time will / shall we meet?

In yes-no questions, shall and will have different meanings.

Will asks a favor.

Will / Shall you turn off the TV?

Will / Shall you stop whining?

Will / Shall you go with me?

Will also asks for information or knowledge about somebody or something.

Will / Shall Tom ever pay you back?

Will / Shall Mars be visited by humans within twenty years?

Will / Shall you be finished soon?

Shall asks about a preference. In these examples, shall and should are synonomous. In American English, shall is rarely used; when it is, it's only in the first person singular and plural.

Should / Shall I close the door?

Should / Shall he close the door?

Should / Shall they come back later?

Should / Shall Tom bring food to the party?

Should / Shall we stay here?

May and Might

The modals may and might indicate an uncertain future action. These two modals are synonymous.

I may / might go to the park, or I may / might stay home.

This may / might be a bad idea.

It may / might rain tonight.

iMay or can gives instructions or permission.

You may / can now board the airplane.

You may / can begin the exam in ten minutes.

In yes-no questions that make a request, you can use may or can. May is more polite.

May / Can I see your driver's license?

May / Can we have some more water, please?

You can might in place of may or can, but this is extremely rare in American English.

May / Can / Might I be of some assistance?

May / Can / Might we offer you a suggestion?

Must

The modal must indicates an obligation.

You must see this movie.

Tom must see a doctor immediately.

Must also indicates an assumption or probability.

My watch must be broken.

He must have done that before moving to Spain.             

In wh- questions, must is an obligation and can be replaced with the modal should. In American English, should is much more common in these types of questions.

When should / must we be there?

Who should / must I talk to?

Must can sometimes form rhetorical questions, when you want the person to stop doing something.

Must you make so much noise?	=	Please be quiet.
Must he ask so many questions?	=	I hope he stops asking questions.

 
Should and Ought (to)

The modals should and ought to indicate an obligation. These two modals are synonymous.

You should / ought to call your mother.

I should / ought to go home now.

When used in questions, should asks if an obligation exists. Ought is never used in questions in American English.

Should he call her?

Should we pay now?

When should we leave?

What should I wear?

Would

Would followed by like is a polite way of stating a preference.

I would like white wine with my fish.

We would like a room with a view.

In questions, would + subject + like is a polite request for a choice to be made.

Would you like soup or salad with your meal?

Where would you like to eat dinner?

When would Tom like this delivered?

Would can make a request sound more polite.

Come here!	Would you come here?
Stop making that noise!	Would you stop making that noise?

Would explains an action as a result of a supposed or real condition.

I would go with you if I didn't have to work.

If I had not had to work, I would have gone with you.

She would be surprised if you came to the party.

Tom would drive, but he doesn't have a license.

Would introduces habitual actions in the past.

When I was a student, I would go swimming every day.

When Tom lived in France, he would write me long letters.

Modal + verb word

Remember that a modal is used with a verb word. A verb word is the dictionary form of the verb.

S	Modal	Verb word	O
They	might	visit	us

Avoid using an infinitive or an –ing form instead of a verb word after a modal.

Examples:

• — After you show me the way, I can to go by myself. (I)
• — After you show me the way, I can go by myself. (C)

LOGICAL CONCLUSIONS

1.      Logical conclusions-events in the past

Remember that must is a modal. Must followed by the verb word have and a participle expresses a logical conclusion based on evidence. The conclusion is about an event that happened in the past.

S	must have	participle	past time
My friend	must have	called	last night

Avoid using should or can instead of must. Avoid using a verb word instead of have and a participle when referring to events in the past.

Examples:

• —  The streets are wet; it should have rained last night. (I)
• —  The streets are wet; it must have rained last night. (C)

Exercise:

• — When the weather become colder we know that the air mass must originated in the Arctic rather than over the Gulf of Mexico.

2.      Logical conclusions-events in the present

Remember that must is a modal. Must followed by be and an –ing form or an adjective expresses a logical conclusion based on evidence. The conclusion is about an event that is happening now.

S	must be	-ing	present tense
My friend	must be	calling	now

S	must be	adjective	present time
He	must be	upset	now

Avoid using a verb word instead of an –ing form after must be.

Examples:

• —  He is taking a walk; he must have felt better now. (I)
• —  He is taking a walk; he must be feeling better now. (C)

Exercise:

• — The American buffalo must be reproduce itself again because it has been removed from the endangered species list.

3.      Logical conclusions-events that repeat

Remember that must is a modal. Must followed by a verb word expresses a logical conclusion based on evidence. The conclusion is about an event that happens repeatedly.

S	must	verb word	repeated
My friend	must	call	often

Avoid using an infinitive or an –ing form instead of a verb word after must.

Examples:

• —  Her English is very good; she must spoken it often. (I)
• —  Her English is very good; she must speak it often. (C)

Exercise:

Since more than 50  percent of all marriages in the United States end in divorce, about half of the children in America must …….. in single-parent homes.

A. grow up                                          C. growing up

B. to grow up                                     D. have grow up

Know and Know-How

Study the following rules concerning the use of the verb know. Know how is usually used to indicate that one has the skill or ability to do something. Thus, it is usually followed by verb, and when it is, the verb must be in the infinitive.

Subject + know how + (verb in infinitive)…

Know by itself, on the order hand, is usually followed by a noun, a prepositional phrase, or of sentence.

Subject + know +

Noun          Prepositional phrase sentences

Examples:

Bill knows how to play tennis well.

Maggie and her sister know how to prepare Chinese food.

Jason knew the answer to the teacher’s question.

No one knows about Roy’s accepting the new position.

I didn’t know that you were going to France.

Used to and Be Used to

Used to
Used to + verb refers to a habit or state in the past. It is used only in the past simple.
Past habits If you used to do something, you did it for a period of time in the past, but you don't do it any more.	We used to live there when I was a child. I used to walk to work everyday when I was younger.
Past states We also say used to to express a state that existed in the past but doesn't exist now. States are not actions. They are expressed using stative verbs such as have, believe, know and like.	I used to like The Beatles but now I never listen to them. He used to have long hair but nowadays his hair is very short.
The form of the question is did(n't) + subject + use to be. The form of the negative is subject + didn't + use to be.	Did(n't) he use to work in your office? We didn't use to be vegetarians.

Be used to
Be used to + noun phrase or verb-ing (in this pattern used is an adjective and to is a preposition).	I am used to getting up early in the morning. I don't mind it. He didn't complain about the noise nextdoor - he was used to it.
If you are used to something, you have often done or experienced it, so it's not strange, new or difficult for you.
The opposite of be used to is be not used to.	I am not used to the new system yet.