MODALS

W HICH ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MODALS AND VERBS ? VERBSMODALS Singular / Plural-S / -ES / -IES (He plays, We play) NO variation (He must, We must) Negative FormUse of auxiliaries (dont, doesnt) NO auxiliaries (I must, I mustnt) Interrogative FormUse of auxiliaries (do, does) NO auxiliaries (Should you...? Place in the sentenceBw the S and the O (You listen to music) ALWAYS before base form (He may be at home) Other forms: infinitive, participle, futur, -ing forms, complex tenses GO: to go, gone, will go, going, has gone They have NOT any of these forms

M ODAL VERBS Can Be able to Cant Could May Might Would *** Be able to and Have to are called semi-modals Must Have to Need to Neednt Dont have to Mustnt Should Ought to *** Need to is not a modal

CAN I can speak English, because I lived in London. ability Can you open your books? request I can lend you my book if you need it. possibility

My brother is able to play football very well ability BE ABLE TO

COULD I could run very fast when I was a child. past ability Could you help me, please? polite request You could study and your results will improve. polite suggestion Dont worry, you could win the lottery. possibility

You cant be Mark! Hes got dark hair certainty that something is impossible CANT

MAY It may rain next week possibility May I pay with a credit card? polite request

She might win the gold medal possibility MIGHT

WOULD Would you open the door, please? formal request Would you like some coffee? offer

MUST You must arrive on time at school. obligation I hear some noises inside. They must be at home. certainty that something is true

I have to stay at home before midnight. obligation, necessity HAVE TO

I need to go to the market because Ive anything to eat. obligation, necessity NEED TO

You neednt wake up early on Sundays lack of obligation NEEDNT

You dont have to bring anything to the party lack of obligation DONT HAVE TO

You mustnt smoke in this area. prohibition MUSTNT

You should try and give up smoking. advice, opinion SHOULD

You ought to go to the doctor if you dont feel well. advice, opinion OUGHT TO

Modal Pefects refer to PAST or COMPLETED ACTIONS: You should go to the doctor to feel it better. You should have gone to the doctor. Which of these sentences refer to the past? What differences in terms of form can you see? MODAL PERFECTS

STRUCTURE MODALSMODAL PERFECTS Subject + modal + base formSubject + modal + have + past participle

MODAL PERFECTS Must have May have / might have Could have Couldnt have Would have Should have / ought to have Shouldnt have Neednt have

MUST HAVE She hasnt arrived yet. She must have been in a traffic jam. certainty that something was true

MAY HAVE / MIGHT HAVE She may / might have missed the bus a guess about a past action

COULD HAVE You could have studied more for this exam. ability to have done something but in fact did not

COULDNT HAVE He couldnt have killed him because he was in the hospital. certainty that something did not happen

WOULD HAVE I would have gone to the beach, but I didnt feel very well willingness to have done something but in fact could not

SHOULD HAVE / OUGHT TO HAVE You should have told me that they splitted up. criticism or regret after an event

SHOULDNT HAVE You shouldnt have insulted her! criticism after an event

NEEDNT HAVE You neednt have brought anything to the party. an unnecessary action in the past