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Modal Verbs

Licda.Vicky

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What are modal verbs?

They are: Can Could May Might Must

Shall Should Will Would

Ought to

Modal verbs are sometimesreferred to as

Modal Auxiliary verbs becausethey help other verbs

They are Auxiliary verbs that

provide additional and specificmeaning to the main verb of the

sentence

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How do we use modals?

Example: Mary could play the piano

SSubject

VVerb

M

They do not accept conjugationThey do not need other auxiliary verbs

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Form

He can ski He can s ski or He can ski sWould you like to come with me?

Do you would like to come with me?They cant be seriousThey dont can be serious

There is no s in singularThere is no do / does in the question

There is no dont / doesnt in the negative

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Form

to can / caning to must /musting

She must studyWe should have gone the other wayHe could play football in his youth (general ability)

Modal verbs do not have infinitives or ing forms

Modal verbs are followed by an infinitive without to

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Form

Modal verbs do not have all the tenses

Modal verbs use other verbs to complete the tensesCan is completed with be able to

Must is completed with have to

They can play the piano

They will be able to play the piano in the future

You must come early

You had to come early yesterday

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What do they express?

To understand it better we are going to divide them into3 categories

1. Single Concept Modal: they have one meaning2. Double Concept Modal: they have two meanings

3. Modals in past : They are used to express a situation inthe past

They can have more than one meaningdepending on the situations

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Single Concept Modal

Modal Concept Examples

Will Future Joe will travel to NY next week

Might Small probability I might move to Canada some day

Should Recommendation You should go to the doctor

Ought to Formal

recommendation

We ought to know about first aids

Had better Warning I had better study or I will fail the test

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Double Concept ModalModal Concept Examples

May (1) Permission May I come in?

May (2) Good probability We may visit Mexico this summer

Must (1) Responsibility Everyone must pay taxes

Must (2) Assumption She didnt arrive. She must be sick

Would (1) Past (used to) When I was young, I would playsoccer

Would (2) Present unreal I would buy the car but I cant affordit

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PROBABILITY/POSSIBILITY

ABILITY PERMISSION OBLIGATION/ADVICE

OFFERS

CAN I can play thepiano

Can I go outtonight?

CANT She cant be his mum.She s too young

I cant speakGerman

Can I borrow thecar? No, I cant.

MIGHT It might rain tomorrow

COULD It could rain tomorrow I could alreadyread when I wastwo

Could I see yourpassport please,sir?

MAY It may rain tomoroww May I leave thetable?

MUST She must be his sisterbecause they lookalike.

You must leavebefore the clockstrikes twelve.

HAVE TO I have to studytonight.

SHALL You shall pay onTuesday

Shall I help you?

SHOULD /OUGHT TO

You should see it.Its excellent.

HAD BETTER You had bettersleep more.

WOULD Would you like adrink?

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Modals in the Past

They are modals referred to actions thathappened in the past

It must have been a difficult decisionThey should have invited her to their wedding

MODAL + HAVE + verb in past participle

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MODAL PERFECT USES EXAMPLES

MUST HAVE + P.P. Conclusin lgica sobre un hecho delpasado

Peter has arrived late. He musthave been in a traffic jam

MAY / MIGHT HAVE + P.P. Una suposicin sobre algo pasado Joe may / might have taken thewrong train.

COULD HAVE + P.P. Habilidad de haber hecho algo perofinalmente no lo hizo

You could have played better

COULDNT HAVE + P.P. Certeza de que algo no pudo habersucedido

He couldnt have passsedbecause you hadnt studiedenough

WOULD HAVE + P.P. Quiso haber hecho algo, pero no pudohacerlo por causas externas

I would have visited you, but Iforgot your address

SHOULD /OUGHT TO HAVE + P.P.

Queja de que algo haya ocurrido en elpasado o lamento de que no se hayacumplido lo que esperbamos

You should / ought to havewarned me earlier

SHOULDNT HAVE + P.P. Crtica sobre un acontecimientopasado que no debera haberocurrido

He shouldnt have told them

NEEDNT HAVE + P.P. No haba necesidad de hacer lo quese hizo en el pasado

You neednt have bought it .

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Modals in Past : Modal + have + past participleModal Concept Example

Would have Past unreal action I would have bought the car, but I didnthave money

Could have Past unreal Ability She could have taken the flight

May have Past unrealPossibility

We may have passed the test, but it was inFrench

Might have Past Unreal SmallProbability

You might have sold the house, if youreally needed the money

Should have Past unrealRecommendation

You should have listened to the doctor

Must have Past unrealAssumption

We must have been crazy!

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A last tip

There are few verbs which often serve as

modals too.These are modal-like verbs

They need to be conjugated

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Practise1. My son ___ be home by now. Where can he be?

a. Have to b. Would c. Should d. Could

2. I think your thumb is broken. You ___ go to the emergency room.

a. Might b. could c. ought to d. can3. If you are interested in losing weight, you ______ try this new diet.

a. Could b. mustnt c. dont have to d. had to

4. Johnnies fallen down the stairs! I ________ call an ambulance!

a. Will b. might c. may d. ought to

5. You _______ come too early. We wont leave until 9 oclock.

a. Has to b. must c. neednt d. cant

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Practise6. Children ________ be accompanied by an adult at the zoo.

a. Ought to b. must c. would d. mustnt

7. You _________ talk during tests. Its forbidden!

a. dont have to b. mustnt c. couldnt d. ought to8. I can feel the heat. We _________ be near the fire.

a. Can b. would c. must d. have to

9. They ________ hear him because he was whispering.

a. Wouldnt b. mustnt c. shouldnt d. couldnt

10. Youve never heard of Britney Spears! You ________ be serious!

a. Must b. had to c. cant d. shouldnt

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More practise

Re-write the following sentences using modals so that they have thesame meaning.

1. I suggest that you get a good lawyer!

You ___________________________________________2. A university degree isnt necessary for that job.

You ___________________________________________

3. Perhaps my father will pick you up.

My father _______________________________________

4. 4. Eating is forbidden in class!

You ___________________________________________

should get a lawyer

neednt have a university degree for that job

dont have to have a university

may / might pick you up

mustnt eat in class

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More practise

Re-write the following sentences using modals so that they have thesame meaning.

5. Look at his dirty clothes! Im sure he is a poor person.

He ____________________________________________6. I dont believe that the legend of Hercules is true because therere

many contradictions.

The legend of Hercules ____________________________

must be a poor person

cant be true

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