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Modal Auxiliaries: Modal Verbs Are A Kind of Auxiliary Verb. They Facilitate The Main Verb For Suggesting Potential

Modal verbs are used to express ideas like potential, obligation, permission, and ability. They include will, can, must, may, should, and others. Modal verbs never change form for person or number and have different past tense forms like would and could. Important rules for modal verbs include that they must be followed by a basic verb form rather than "-ing", "-ed", or "-s" forms, and their meaning depends on whether they indicate present or past time frames.

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26 views5 pages

Modal Auxiliaries: Modal Verbs Are A Kind of Auxiliary Verb. They Facilitate The Main Verb For Suggesting Potential

Modal verbs are used to express ideas like potential, obligation, permission, and ability. They include will, can, must, may, should, and others. Modal verbs never change form for person or number and have different past tense forms like would and could. Important rules for modal verbs include that they must be followed by a basic verb form rather than "-ing", "-ed", or "-s" forms, and their meaning depends on whether they indicate present or past time frames.

Uploaded by

tri wahyudi
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Modal Auxiliaries

Modal verbs are a kind of auxiliary verb. They facilitate the main verb for suggesting potential,
expectation, permission, ability, possibility, and obligation.
When used with the main verb, modal verbs do not end with -s for the third-person singular. 
Modal auxiliary verbs never change form, but they have a different form for past tense.
Present Tense Past Tense

Will Would (used to)

Can Could

Must (have to) (Had to)

May Might

Should (ought to) (had better) Should (ought to)

The modal auxiliaries include:

NB: The words in parentheses ( ) are semi-modals. They have the same meaning, but they are
different grammatically.

One important rule about the use of modals is that modal must be followed by basic verb NOT
‘verb-ing’, or ‘verb-ed’, or ‘verb-s’
Exampe:
He can play guitar. (the modal can must be followed basic verb ‘play’ not ‘playing, played, or
plays’.
Will – Would
‘Will’ indicates a ‘willingness’ to do something in the future. The negative form of will – will not
(won’t) indicates an ‘unwillingness’ (refusal, reluctance) to do something.
Example:
I will give you another opportunity.
I will play tomorrow.
They will arrive at 10 AM.
She won’t come today.

‘Would’ indicates general or repeated willingness in the past. It also indicates preference in the
present.
Example:
If you did not leave, I would still be taking care of you.
Whenever I had to go there, they would throw a party.
We thought that people would buy this book.
If I were you, I would not do it.
I would like to make a toast.

‘Used to’ sometimes replaces would but sometimes it would be grammatically incorrect if we
use used to in place of would.
Example:
When I was in school, I used to make sketches.
He often used to cry at night without reason.
I used to take a break at this time of the year.
Can – Could – May – Might
These modals express possibility and ability.

‘Can’ indicates ability. Could indicates ability with an option.


Example:
I can do it. (The subject ‘I’ is sure about his/her ability)
I could do it. (The subject ‘I’ is not sure about his/her ability)
They cannot do it. (present)
They could not do it. (past)

Can & could also indicate possibility.


Example:
The temperature can rise this month.
They can’t go too far by now.
It could rain later.

‘May and might’ both indicate possibility but might can suggest that there is less possibility
than may.
Example:
It may rain later.
It might rain later.
They may come back.
They might come back.
Must
‘Must’ indicates necessity.
Example:
I must leave now.
He must study hard.
Alex must go home by 6.00 pm.

‘Have to’ has the similar meaning to must but implies less urgency.
Example:
I have to leave now.
He has to study hard.
Alex has to go by 6.00 pm.
I had to leave then. (past)
He had to study hard to pass the exam. (past)

Should
‘Should’ indicates obligation and probability.
Example:
You should come home early.
You should not smoke at all.
I should visit my parents more often.
There should be an extra key for the lock in the drawer. (probability)
He should have reached by now. (probability)
I should have done that. (obligation in the past)
‘Ought to and had better’ sometimes replaces should.
Example:
You ought to come home early.
We ought to have taken a taxi. (Past)
We had better leave. (Had better is generally used in spoken English.)
I think parents ought to give children more freedom. (Had better won’t be appropriate here.

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