Scribd
Upload
169 views5 pages

English 8: Modals Lecture: Be-May Also Function As

The document discusses modal verbs in English grammar. It defines modal verbs as verbs that combine with another verb to indicate mood or tense, such as expressing necessity, uncertainty, ability, or permission. There are 10 core modal verbs in English including can, could, may, might, must, ought, shall, should, will, and would. Modal verbs are used to convey different levels of certainty or obligation and have no inflected forms.

Uploaded by

Candy Ditan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
169 views5 pages

English 8: Modals Lecture: Be-May Also Function As

The document discusses modal verbs in English grammar. It defines modal verbs as verbs that combine with another verb to indicate mood or tense, such as expressing necessity, uncertainty, ability, or permission. There are 10 core modal verbs in English including can, could, may, might, must, ought, shall, should, will, and would. Modal verbs are used to convey different levels of certainty or obligation and have no inflected forms.

Uploaded by

Candy Ditan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

ENGLISH 8: MODALS LECTURE

In English grammar, a modal is a verb that combines with another verb to


indicate mood or tense. A modal (also known as a modal auxiliary or modal verb)
expresses necessity, uncertainty, ability, or permission. To put it another way, modals
are how we describe our worldview and articulate our perspective.

Modal Basics

Most linguists agree that there are 10 core or "pure" modals in English:

 Can
 Could
 May
 Might
 Must
 Ought
 Shall
 Should
 Will
 Would

Other verbs—including need, had better, and invariant  be—may also function as


modals (or semimodals). Unlike other auxiliaries, modals have no -s, -ing, -en,
or infinitive forms. (Because ought requires a to-  infinitive complement, some
linguists regard it as a marginal modal.)

There are two kinds of modal verbs: pure modals and semimodals. Pure modals
never change their form, regardless of subject, and they don't change to show past
tense. These verbs express certainty. For example: 

 I can sing. Bob can sing. They can sing.


 I had to sing. She had to sing. We had to sing.
Semimodals are used to imply a range of possibility or obligation. These verbs need
to be conjugated, based on subject and tense. For example:

 I have to take responsibility for my actions. She has to take responsibility for
her actions.
 I don't need to take responsibility for my actions. He doesn't need to take
responsibility for my actions.

Usage and Examples

Modals are commonly used to express your degree of certainty about the outcome
of an action. Consider these two examples:

 Kim is his sister. He told me so.


 Kim must be his sister because they look just like each other.

In the first example, the speaker is making a statement as if it were a matter of fact.
In the second example, the statement implies a degree of uncertainty, though not
enough for the speaker to doubt its truthfulness. Both sentences convey a range of
possibility.

The same modal verb can be used to express different degrees of certainty or
obligation, which makes mastering modals tricky. For example, consider the modal
verb should go and how it's used in the following two sentences:

 The bank closes in 15 minutes. We should go there now.


 You should go to the bank only if you need to get cash.

In the first instance, the modal is expressing a strong degree of obligation. The
speaker knows she needs to go to the bank if she wants to get there before it's too
late. But in the second example, the speaker is offering a suggestion and a weak one
at that. The speaker doesn't know whether his friend needs cash, so he can only offer
a conditional opinion.
As you become more proficient in English, you'll discover just how frequently models
are used. Here are some examples:

 "When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or


not."(Mark Twain)
 "She thought, I must hurry before the robbers come."(Jean Stafford, "The
Interior Castle," 1947)
 "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish
from the earth."
(Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, 1863)

What are modal verbs?


Modals (also called modal verbs, modal auxiliary verbs, modal auxiliaries) are
special verbs which behave irregularly in English. They are different from normal
verbs like "work, play, visit..." They give additional information about the function of
the main verb that follows it. They have a great variety of communicative functions.

Here are some characteristics of modal verbs:

 They never change their form. You can't add "s", "ed", "ing"...
 They are always followed by an infinitive without "to" (e.i. the bare
infinitive.)
 They are used to indicate modality allow speakers to express certainty,
possibility, willingness, obligation, necessity, ability

List of modal verbs


Here is a list of modal verbs:

can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should,


must

The verbs or expressions dare, ought to, had better, and need not behave like


modal auxiliaries to a large extent and my be added to the above list

Use of modal verbs:


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

Examples of modal verbs


Here is a list of modals with examples:

Modal Verb Expressing Example

Strong obligation You must stop when the traffic lights


turn red.
must
logical conclusion / He must be very tired. He's been
Certainty working all day long.

must not prohibition You must not smoke in the hospital.

ability I can swim.

can permission Can I use your phone please?

possibility Smoking can cause cancer.

ability in the past When I was younger I could run fast.

polite permission Excuse me, could I just say


could
something?

possibility It could rain tomorrow!

permission May I use your phone please?


may
possibility, probability It may rain tomorrow!

polite permission Might I suggest an idea?

might
possibility, probability I might go on holiday to Australia next
year.
lack of necessity/absence of I need not buy tomatoes. There are
need not
obligation plenty of tomatoes in the fridge.

50 % obligation I should / ought to see a doctor. I


have a terrible headache.

should/ought advice You should / ought to revise your


to 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:

 You must stop when the traffic lights turn red.


 You should see to the doctor.
 There are a lot of tomatoes in the fridge. You need not buy any.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy