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MODALS

The document explains modal verbs, which indicate modality such as ability, permission, and obligation, and provides examples of their usage. It covers specific modals like 'should,' 'ought to,' 'will,' 'would,' 'may,' 'might,' 'can,' and 'could,' detailing their meanings and contexts. Additionally, it discusses the nuances of necessity and permission in using modals, along with exercises for practice.

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17 views27 pages

MODALS

The document explains modal verbs, which indicate modality such as ability, permission, and obligation, and provides examples of their usage. It covers specific modals like 'should,' 'ought to,' 'will,' 'would,' 'may,' 'might,' 'can,' and 'could,' detailing their meanings and contexts. Additionally, it discusses the nuances of necessity and permission in using modals, along with exercises for practice.

Uploaded by

awalxoxo5
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MODALS

A modal verb is a type of verb that contextually


indicates a modality such as a likelihood, ability,
permission, request, capacity, suggestion, order,
obligation, necessity, possibility or advice. Modal
verbs generally accompany the base form of another
verb having semantic content.
It is simply a word such as ‘can’ or ‘would’ which is
used with a main verb to express ideas such as
possibility, intention, or necessity.

Should and Ought to: We can often use should or


ought to with little difference in meaning when we
talk about ‘obligation’ and possibility.
- Obligation: Giving advice or making a Recommendation
 You’ll catch cold if you go out like that. I think you
should/ought to take a hat.
We use should (or would), not ought to, when we give
advice with I. E.g.: I should leave tomorrow, if I were
you. (or I would leave…; or I’d leave…)
 Talking about a Responsibility or Duty:
 I should/ought to visit my parents more often.

- Probability
 Saying that something is probably true now or will probably be
true in the future:
 I enjoyed the first novel, so the new one should/ought to be
good.
•We use should/ought to + have + past participle to
talk about an obligation in the past. We often indicate
some criticism or regret:
 He should/ought to have asked me before taking
the bike. (I am annoyed)
•We also use should/ought to + have + past participle
to talk about expectation that something happened,
has happened, or will happen:
 The builders should/ought to have finished by the
end of the week.
Exercise: Complete these sentences with should/ought
to + infinitive (or a passive form) or should/ought to
have + past participle using one of these verbs. In
which one is ought to NOT possible? Check
include keep listen meet refrigerate
stay
1. You should/ought to have received my reply by now.
1.This medicine ______ in a cool place.
2.Here’s someone you really __________.
3.If you’re feeling ill, I ________ at home today, if I
were you.
4.To have got a better mark, you ______ your
answers more thoroughly.
5. According to the label, the butter _________ after
opening.
6. I think you ________ to him. He knew what he was
talking about.
Will and Would: habits; used to
We can use will (for the present) and would (for the past)
to talk about characteristic behavior or habits, or about
things that are or were always true:
 Every day Dan will come home from work and turn on
the TV.
 During the war, people would eat all kinds of things that
we don’t eat now.
If we want to talk about things that happened
repeatedly in the past, but don’t happen now, we can
use would or used to + infinitive. Used to is more
common in informal English:
 We would/used to lend him money when he was
unemployed.
Study how we normally make questions and negatives
with used to in spoken English:
 Did your children use to sleep well when they were
babies?
 I didn’t use to like visiting the dentist when I was
young.
Task: Complete these sentences with will, would or used to.

1. I ____like going to pop concerts when I was a teenager.


2. Business people ____watch what their competitors are doing with
great interest.
3. My father didn’t know that we ____ borrow the car when he was at
work.
4. When I was a child, summers ___ be warmer and winters colder
than them.
Exercise: If possible, complete the sentences with either
will or would followed by the bare infinitive form of the
verb in brackets. If it is not possible to use will or would,
write only the verb in brackets in the past simple.
1. Around 2 o’clock every night, Joe will start talking in
her sleep. It’s very annoying. (start)
2. As soon as he woke up he ______ things ready for
breakfast. (get)
3. When I was younger, I ____ hours just kicking a ball
around the garden. (spend)
4. Jack _____ three days ago from a holiday in France.
(return)
5. There’s a boy in my class who _____ the most
ridiculous questions. (ask)
6. She _____ all her closest friends and relatives to her
50th birthday party last summer. (invite)
May, Might, Can and Could: Possibility
•In affirmative sentences (ie. Sentences which are not
questions or negatives), we use may or might to say
there is a possibility of something happening or being
true:
 This may/might be his last major speech before the
election.
There is often little difference in meaning, but might
can suggest that there is less possibility.
We can also use could, but not can, to express a similar
meaning. We prefer could to show that we are giving
an opinion about which we are unsure:
 There may/might/could be some cake left. I’ll go and
look.
We can use can in affirmative sentences when we talk
about more general possibility of something happening
rather than the possibility of something happening in a
particular situation: E.g. The temperature can
sometimes reach 35 degrees in July.
• Compare the use of may/might and can/could in
negative sentences
 There are plans to rebuild the town centre, but it
may not/might not happen for another ten years.
(It is possible that it won’t happen for another ten
years.)
The difference is that we use may not or might not to
say that it is possible that something is not true, and
can’t or couldn’t to say that it is not possible that
something is true.
In which of these sentences is it possible to use can?
Write Yes or No.
1.The butterfly ___ be recognized by the orange
streaks on its wings.
2.Peter ___ have a big screwdriver. I’ll go and ask him.
3.Moving to a new job ___ be a very stressful
experience.
4.I think Michael ___ enjoy himself if he joins the
football club.
Need(n’t), don’t have to and mustn’t
Mustn’t and Needn’t/don’t have to
We use mustn’t to say that something is NOT ALLOWED
and needn’t (or don’t need to) or don’t have to to say
that something is not necessary:
- You mustn’t walk on the grass here.
- We needn’t go into details now, but we seem to agree
on the general principles.
Need, needn’t, and don’t need to/don’t have to
Need can be used as a modal verb (before a bare
infinitive) or as an ordinary verb. Compare:
 You needn’t speak so loudly. (= modal verb)
 She needn’t come with us if she doesn’t want to. (=
modal verb)
 She’s thirsty. She needs a drink. (= ordinary verb)
 Jim and Bob are here. They say they need to see you
urgently. (= ordinary verb)
Task: Underline the more likely answer. If they are equally likely,
underline them both.

a. In most developed countries, people needn’t/don’t need to boil

water before they drink it.

b. I’ve brought the car, so you needn’t/don’t need to carry your bags

to the station.

c. You needn’t/don’t need to go to the supermarket. I went shopping

earlier.
Permission, Offers, etc.
To ask permission to do something we use can and could:
e.g. Can/could I take another biscuit?
We use could to be particularly polite. If we want to put extra
pressure on someone to give a positive answer we can use
can’t or couldn’t. E.g. you might use couldn’t where you
expect that the answer is likely to be ‘no’, or where
permission has been refused before.
e.g. Can’t/couldn’t we stay just a little bit longer?
Please?
To give and refuse permission we use can and can’t:
E.g Okay. You can stay in the spare room. No, you
can’t have another chocolate.
We use can (for the present or the future) and could (for
the past) to report permission. E.g: Jim says we can
borrow his house as long as we live it clean.
When we offer to do something, or offer by making a
suggestion, we can use can or could. E.g: Can/Could I help
with your bags?
In offers that are questions, we can also use shall or should.
e.g: Shall/Should I phone for a taxi for you?
If we use shall or should we sound less certain that the offer
will be accepted.

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