MODULE: GRAMMAR SECOND YEAR

LECTURE SIX: MODAL AUXILIARIES

General Introduction

The English verbal system is divided into lexical verbs or ordinary verbs and auxiliaries
subdivided into primary and modal auxiliaries.

A/Primary auxiliaries are: Be, Do, Have

B/ Modal auxiliaries consist of four paired forms and five single forms, as shown on the
table below.

Affirmative Interrogative Negative Contracted Negative

Can Can? Cannot Can’t
Could Could? Could not Couldn’t
May May I? May not Mayn’t
Might Might I? Might not Mightn’t
Shall Shall? Shall not Shan’t
should Should I? Should not Shouldn’t
Will Will I? Will not Won’t
Would Would I? Would not Wouldn’t
Must Must I? Must not Mustn’t
Ought to Ought I to? Ought not to Oughtn’t to
Used to Used I to Used not to Usedn’t to
Need Need I? Need not Needn’t
Dare Dare I? Dare not Daren’t

 Modals have a present, a past and a future reference, depending on the context they
are used in.

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  Modals are called ‘defective’ because they have no infinitive; they are followed by
the infinitive without ‘to’ except ‘ought to’. They do not take ‘s’ with 3 rd person
singular. They have no Ved and no Ving and they have no imperative.

C/ Some modals are called marginal (dare, need and used to) because they do not
behave like the other auxiliaries. They can be constructed either as modals or as lexical
verbs.

1/ ‘Used to’ takes the infinitive and occurs only in the past.

Eg. He didn’t use to play tennis. (do-construction)

He usedn’t to play tennis (modal construction)

 The modal construction of ‘dare’ and ‘need’ is restricted to interrogative and

negative forms.
Eg. Dare he ask again? (modal construction)
He dare not (daren’t) ask again (modal construction)
Need you come early? (modal construction)
You need not (needn’t) come early. (modal construction)

BUT! He dares to ask again. (do-construction)

He needs to come early. (do-construction)
 Both constructions may be found, yet the lexical construction (do-construction) is
regarded as less literary than the modal one.

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I/ PRIMARY AUXILIARIES: BE, DO, HAVE
1/ ‘BE’ has the following forms

Affirmative Interrogative Negative Contracted Negative

Base: Be Not to be
Present: 1st per/sing Am I? Am not Aren’t
I am/I’m
3rd per/sing is/’s Is s/he, it? Is not/isn’t Isn’t
Other persons: Are you/they? Are not/’re not Aren’t
are/’re
Past: 1st /3rd per/sing Was I/she/it? Was not Wasn’t
was
Other persons: Were you? Were not Weren’t
were
Ved 1: Being / Not being /
Ved 2: Been / / /

 ‘Be’ is an auxilliary when it completes another verb. It is used as an auxilliary in the

formation of the ing-form and the passive voice.
Eg. He is working.
The car is/was repaired.
 It is a lexical verb when it means ‘to exist’.
Eg. I think therefore I am.
There are some people who speak Spanish.

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2/ ‘DO’ has the following forms

Affirmative Interrogative Negative Contracted Negative

Present: 1st per/sing Do I? Do not Don’t
do
3rd per/sing does Does s/he, it? Does not/Doesn’t Doesn’t
Other persons: do Do you/they? Do not Don’t
Past: Did Did I/she/it/you, etc? Did not Didn’t
Ved 1: Doing / Not doing /
Ved 2: Done / / /

 ‘Do’ can be an auxilliary (an operator) when it helps form the interrogative and the
negative of the verb.

Eg. I hope you do not (don’t) miss your class.

Do you like English?

 It can be a lexical verb when it is the only verb in the sentence.

Eg. You did well to come early.
What are you doing this evening?

 When ‘Do’ is a lexical verb, it forms its interrogative and negative with the operator
‘Do’.
Eg.What do you do to look very young?
I do not (don’t) do anything.

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3/ ‘HAVE’ has the following forms

Affirmative Interrogative Negative Contracted Negative

Present: 1st per/sing Have I? Have not/ ‘ve not Haven’t
have/’ve
3rd per/sing has/’s has s/he, it? Has not/ ‘s not Hasn’t
Other persons: Have you/they? Have not/ ‘ve not Haven’t
have/ ‘ve
Past: Had/ ‘d Had I/she/it/you, etc? Had not/ ‘d not Hadn’t
Ved 1: Having / Not having /
Ved 2: Had / / /

 ‘Have’ is an auxiliary when it helps form perfect tenses.

Eg They have already arrived.

 ‘Have’ is a lexical verb when it is the only verb in the sentence.

Eg. Do you have any change? (Possession)
I do not (don’t) (have).
 ‘Have’ is also used as a lexical verb when it means ‘to eat’, ‘to drink’, ‘to receive’,
‘to take’. In this case, it is also constructed with the operator ‘DO’.
Eg. Do you have sugar with your tea?
Do you have information about the lost money?
 There is the form ‘HAVE GOT’ (possession) where ‘HAVE’ is used as an
auxilliary.
Eg. Have you got a pen?

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II/ MODAL AUXILIARIES
1/CAN
a- ‘Can’ may be used to express permission.
Eg You can invite him to dinner
Can I leave , sir?
 When ‘can’ expresses permission, its past reference is ‘could’.
Eg. He could go out with his friend.
 ‘May’ can be used to express the same meaning of permission and it is more polite.
Eg. May I leave early?
 It is replaced by ‘be allowed to’in the missing tenses.
Eg. Have you been allowed to leave early?

b/ ‘Can’ expresses also ability.

1/ Intellectual ability.
Eg. He can speak Arabic fluently.
2/ Physical ability
Eg. He can jog five miles without rest.
c/ It expresses possibility.
Eg. A house can cost a lot money.
One can succeed easily.
 When ‘can’ indicates an achievement through ability, its past reference is ‘was/ were
able to’
Eg. Three years ago, he was able to read Italian.
managed to read Italian.
succeeded in reading Italian.

 ‘Can’ and ‘could’ are often be used with verbs of perception without any particular
meaning only if the context requires a paricular meaning.
Eg. One can/could hear bells in the distance.

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2/COULD
a/ ‘Could’ may be the past reference of ‘can’ or its conditional.
Eg. He could play chess.
They could be better students if they worked harder.

b/ ‘Could’ is used with a present or future reference.

 It is used with a present reference when there is an idea of condition.
Eg. If the weather is fine, I could go out today. (present reference)
Perhaps I could swim tomorrow. (future reference)
 The past reference of ‘could’ is ‘could have’
Eg. You could have come earlier. (you did not)

 When the perfect is added with a modal, it adds an idea of unachivement.

Eg. They could have waited outside (they did not wait)

3/ MAY and MIGHT

They are used to express permission and possibilty. ‘Might’ is seldom the past
reference of ‘may’. The past reference of ‘might’ is ‘might have’
Eg. He might come. (perhaps he will come)
He might have come. (he did not come)
1/ ‘May’ and ‘Might’ expressing permission
Eg. May I ask you a question?
Might I ask you a question?
 In this case, they can be replaced by ‘be allowed to’ in the future and conditional.
Eg. Shall I be allowed to use your car?

2/ ‘May’ and ‘Might’ expressing possibility

a/ Possibility may be in the present or the future.
Eg. Planes may /might be subjects to hijacking.

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b/ They indicate uncertainty; the speaker does not know or he is not sure that an event
will happen.
Eg. He may/might be late.

 When ‘may’ and ‘might’ express possibility, their negatives are ‘cannot’ and ‘could
not’.
Eg. He may be tired. (affirmative)
He cannot be tired. (negative)
You might tell him now. (affirmative)
You could not tell him now. (negative)

 When indicating ‘possibility’, ‘may’ can be replaced by the structure: perhaps +

personal pronoun + will, and ‘might’ by the structure: perhaps + personal pronoun +
would.
It is possible that he, she, we will, in the case of ‘may’
It is possible that he, she, we would, in the case of ‘might’
Eg. He may change his view. Perhaps he will change his view.
It is possible that he will change his view.
You might be disappointed. Perhaps you would be disappointed.
It is possible that you would be disappointed.

c/ When the meaning of ‘may’ and ‘might’ is too ambiguous, it is better to replace
them by one of their equivalents.
Eg. They may lend you the money.
Perhaps they will lend you the money.
They are allowed to lend you the money.

She might visit her family next weekend.

Perhaps she would visit her family next weekend.
She is allowed to visit her family next weekend.

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 ‘Might’ is used in reported statement to replace ‘may’.
Eg. ‘He may write a new book’, you said.
You said that he might write a new book.

 ‘May’ and ‘Might’ are used in various other ways.

1- In exclamatory sentences to express a wish.
Eg. May you have a happy life!
May he come back safe from the war!

May good luck attend you! (May you have a good luck!)
2- They are used after ‘so that’, ‘in order that’, ‘in case that’
Eg. He studied English so that/ in order that he may/might speak it fluently.
I prepared some tea in case that you might pay me a visit.

4/ MUST
Affirmative: Must/have to/ has to
Negative: Must not/ mustn’t / ‘musnt/, do not have to/does not have to
Interrogative: ‘Must’ I? / Do I have to? Does s/he have to? Did I/you/s/he/ have to/
It has a present, a past and a future reference. The form ‘must’ can be used with all
persons in the present or future.
Eg. Students must attend all classes.
You must return the book this afternoon.
I must leave now.

 ‘To have to’ may provide an alternative for the missing tenses.
a/ ‘Must’ indicates an obligation.
 It denotes an obligation imposed by the speaker; whereas ‘have to’
denotes an external obligation.
Eg. You must leave. (I want you to leave)
You have to leave. (circumstances oblige you to leave)

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 John must work hard. (I want him to work hard)
John has to work hard (circumstances oblige him to work hard)

b/ ‘Must’ indicates a strong probability or deduction.

Eg. You must be pleased to see your mother.
She must be very old now. (should be)
 When ‘must’ indicates probability, its negative is ‘cannot’.
Eg. She cannot be very old now.
 ‘Should’ is a synonym of ‘must’ when indicating probability. ‘May’ is much
weaker than ‘must’ and ‘should.
 ‘Must not’ is not an absence of obligation but an obligation.
Eg.You must not walk on the grass. (It is forbidden to walk on the grass)
 When ‘must’ does not imply an obligation, its negatives are: ‘need not’ and ‘do
not have to’.
Eg. Must I wait for you?
No, you need not (needn’t) / you do not(don’t) have to.
 With past tenses, ‘did not (didn’t) have to’ is more frequent than ‘did not need
(didn’t) need to’.
 When the meaning of ‘must’ is probability or deduction, its negative is ‘cannot’
(present) and could not (past).
Eg. If you start at night, you must be late.
If you start at night, you cannot be late.
If you started at night, you could not be late.

5/ SHALL AND WILL

a/SHALL
1-‘Shall’ with 1st persons. (I/we)
 It is used to indicate an ordinary future.
Eg. I/we shall leave early.
 It may indicate an intention or determination on the speaker’s part.

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 Eg. I/we shall let you know. (I am/ we are determined to let you know)
I shall help you. (I intend to help you)

 These two meanings are the mostly used today.


2-‘Shall’ with 2nd and 3rd persons.(you/ he/she…)
 It may express willingness or promise on the part of the speaker.
Eg. He shall get his money. (promise)
 It also indicates an order or insistence on the speaker’s part.
Eg. He shall be punished. (insistence)
You shall do as I say. (order)

3/ ‘Shall’ used in direct question.

A/ With 1st persons (I/W) ‘Shall’ asks for instructions, expresses sugestion or offer.
Eg. Shall I come right away?
Shall we drink this syrup?
Shall I make the beds?
Shall we go for a walk?

B/ With other persons, ‘shall’ is used when asking about an obligation.

Eg. Shall you/ s/he post the the letter? (Are you/is s/he obliged to post the letter?)

b/WILL
a/ In affirmative sentences, ‘will’ expresses determination and persistence in the
present or the future.
Eg. We will win the match. (determination)
If you will (persistence) smoke, you will be ill.

b/ It expresses willingness in the present or future but more commonly in the present.
Eg. If you find this exercise too difficult, I will help you.

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 He says he will come to the party.

c/ ‘Will’ indicates a repeated action in the present with or without any adverbial of
present time.
Eg. Every day, he will go for a ride on his bike.

d/ It indicates a supposition or deduction with 2nd and 3rd persons.

Eg. This lady will be your sister. (supposition)
Your name is Mazen will be Palestinian then (deduction)

 In negative sentences, ‘will’(will not/won’t) indicates a strict refusal.

Eg. You will do what you are told to do. (Order) (It can be replaced by ‘shall’)
I won’t. (refusal)

 In interrogative sentences, ‘will’ is used for polite requests.

Eg. Will you close the window, please? (Request)

 ‘Will’ after ‘if’

No future can be used after ‘if’ in a subordinate clause, however, ‘will’ is placed
after ‘if’ with a present reference.
Eg. If you will waste your time, you will fail. (persistence in the present)
If you will not do as I say you will be punished. (refusal in the present)
If you will close the door you will be a good boy. (willingness in the present)

6/SHOULD
1/ It is used when we say that we think is a good thing to do or the right thing to do.
Eg. Should we invite him to the party?
Yes, I think we should.

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  You ‘should not do something’ means that it is not a good thing to do.
Eg. You have been coughing a lot recently; you should not go out at night.

 ‘Should’ is not as strong as ‘must’.

Eg. You should stop smoking. (It would be a good idea)
You must stop smoking. (It is necessary to stop smoking)
 ‘Should’ is often used when we ask for or give an opinion about something. Often,
we use ‘I think’, ‘ I don’t think’, Do you think?’
Eg. I think the government should do something about high prices.
I do not think you should work so hard.
Do you think I should apply for the job?
Yes, I think you should.

 ‘Should’ is also used to say that something is not right or not what we expect.
Eg. The price on this packet is wrong. It says AD 100, but it should be 50.
Those children should not be playing. They should be at school.
 For the past, ‘should have + Ved2’ is used to say that someone did the wrong thing.
Eg. I feel sick. I should not have eaten out.
He should not have been listening to our conversation. It was private.
 ‘Ought to’ can be used instead of ‘should’.
Eg. It is really a good play. You ought to go and see it.

 ‘Should’ (or ‘ought to’) is used to say that something will probably happen.
Eg. Do you think he will be late home this evening?
I do not think so. He should be home at the usual time. (He will probably be
home…)

 ‘If …..should’
Eg. If you should see him this afternoon, can you tell him to call me?

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 This is the same as when we say ‘If you see him’ without ‘should’, but with
‘should’ the speaker is less certain.
Don’t worry if I should be late tonight.
If it should rain, can you bring in the washing from the garden?

 The sentence can begin with ‘should’ before the subject with no inversion.
Eg. Should you see him this afternoon, can you tell him to call me?

 ‘Should’ is used after some verbs: ‘insist’, ‘demand’, ‘suggest’, ‘propose’,

‘recommend’, ‘advise’.
Eg. They insisted that we should spend our holidays with them.
I demanded that she should apologize to them.
What do you suggest we should do?

 We can use ‘should’ after the following adjectives: ‘important’, ‘strange’, ‘odd’,
‘typical’, ‘natural’, ‘surprised’, ‘surprising’, ‘essential’, ‘funny’, ‘interesting’.
Eg. It is strange that he should be late. He is usually on time.
I was surprised that he should say such a thing.
It is funny that you should behave in such a way.
It is natural that parents should worry about their children.
Isn’t it typical of her that she should leave without saying good bye?
It is important that everyone should listen very carefully.

7/WOULD
1/ ‘Would’ is used in ‘if-sentences’ (conditional).
Eg. If I found your bag, I would give it to you. (The speaker does not think of a real
possibility; he/she just imagines the situation).

 When we imagine a future happening like this, we use a past tense, but the meaning
is not past.

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 Eg.What would you do if you won a scholarship?

 ‘If + would’ is used when we ask someone to do something in a formal way.

Eg. I would be very grateful if you would send me a brochure and price list.
Shall I close the door?
Yes, please, if you would.

 ‘Would’ is used in expressing offers and invitations.

Eg. Would you like to come with me? (Invitation)
Would you like to accept this gift? (Offer)

 It is also used when one wants to say something in a polite way.

Eg. I would like to try on this jacket.

 ‘Would’ is sometimes used after ‘I wish…’. When the speaker is complaing about a
present situation and s/he wants something to happen, to change, or somebody to do
something.
Eg. I wish it would stop raining. (I want the rain to stop)
I wish someone would answer that telephone. It has been ringing for five
minutes.
The noise next door is very loud. I wish they would stop it.

 ‘Would’ can be used as the past reference of ‘will’.

Eg. I will lend you some money.
He said that he would lend me some money.
She promised that she would not be late.

 ‘Would’ (= used to) is used when we look back on the past and remember things that
often happened.

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 Eg. When we were children, we lived by the garden. In summer, we would all get
up early and (would) play there.
Whenever he was angry, he would just walk out of the room.

8/ DARE and NEED (Marginal auxiliaries)

They are called marginal auxiliaries because they can be constructed either as
modal auxiliaries or as lexical verbs.
 The modal constuction is restricted to the interrogative and negative forms.
Eg. Dare he ask again? (Interrogative - modal construction)

He dare not (deren’t). (Negative - modal construction)

Need she come early? (Interrogative - modal construction)

She need not (needn’t) come early. (Negative - modal construction)

BUT He dares to ask again (lexical verb).

She needs to come early (lexical verb).

 Both constructions may be found, yet the lexical construction is regarded as less
literary than the modal one.

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