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CBSE Class 10
English Grammar –
Modals
September 4, 2017 by Bhagya

Formulae Handbook for Class 10 Maths and

Science

CBSE Class 10 English

Grammar – Modals
Modals are auxiliary verbs used to form the
tenses, moods, voices, etc. of other verbs. They
are helping verbs that cannot be used on their
own but to be used along with other main verbs
mainly to express attitudes.
1. When something happens, they form a tense
of the main verb.
Examples:

I shall go.
He was going

2. They express permission, necessity, or

possibility to do something.
Examples:

ru to Goa Kolkata to Mumbai

View from Rs8,945 View
*

They may go.

You must go.
I can’t go.
I might go.
She would go if she could.

Observe the highlighted words in these

sentences.

We can make our nation a superpower by

the year 2020.
Kalam says that we need to do things
ourselves. We must not import equipment
from other nations.
In twenty years, each one of us ought to
have our destiny worked out.

All the highlighted words are Modal Auxiliaries

that are used with another verb, and express the
mood of the speaker.

The main MODALS are: can, could; may,

might; shall, should; will, would; must;
ought to; need to; have to.
The negative modals are: couldn’t,
wouldn’t, shouldn’t, mustn’t, needn’t,
oughtn’t.

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1.Must and have to:

Must is used for all persons in the present

and the future tenses.
The negative is must not (mustn’t).
The interrogative form is, must I?
Must has no in[nitive and no past tense. It
is followed by the in[nitive without ”to’.

(i) Must is used to express obligation:

You must obey your parents.

You must go to school in time.

(ii) It is used to express compulsion, e. ordering

someone to do something because it is
necessary or important to do so:

You must answer all questions.

You must return by the evening.

(iii) It is used for saying that something is

probably true because nothing else seems
possible:

You must be tired after your long journey

(inference).
There must be some mistakes.

(iv) The negative form of must (must not) is

used for prohibition:

You must not come here.

You must not use the o^ce phone for
private calls.

(v) It is used to give emphatic advice:

She must consult a doctor at once.

You must work hard if you want to get
good marks.

You can master in English Grammar of various

classes by our articles like Tenses, Clauses,
Prepositions, Story writing, Unseen Passage,
Notice Writing, etc.

Must and have to:

Have to, like must, expresses obligation in the
present while had to does so in the past. Must
expresses an obligation imposed by the
speaker. Have to/Had to expresses external
obligations—an obligation by some authority or
circumstances.

I must reach there in time (the speaker

himself feels so).
You must reach in time (ordered to do so
by some external authority).

Had to is used when describing something

belonging to the past.

He had to go early to catch the train.

These two verbs have the following forms:

Have to and had to have alternative negative

and interrogative forms:

For example:
Have you to obey his orders?
or
Do you have to obey his
orders? Had you to
work on Sundays?
or
Did you have to work on
Sundays? Do you have
to mind your watch every day?
Did you have to pay customs duty on your
watch?

You can master in English Grammar of various

classes by our articles like Tenses, Clauses,
Prepositions, Story writing, Unseen Passage,
Notice Writing etc.

2. Have to/Had to:

(i) Have to express obligation and necessity in
the present. Had to does so in the past:

She has to look after her mother.

He had to [nish his work before 5 p.m.

(ii) Have to and had to are used for giving

advice:

First you have to mix the water and the

sugar.
She had to take those pills to get better.

(iii) Have to and had to are used to draw a

logical conclusion:

There has to be some reason for his

mischief.
This has to be a part of the whole plan.

(iv) Have to is used for supposition or to

describe something based on possible ideas or
situations:

You will have to work very hard to stand

[rst.
If she has to choose, she won’t marry him.

(v) Have to is used to indicate that something is

very important or necessary:

We have to be more careful in the future.

They will have to clear all their debts
before December.

3. Should:
(i) Should is the past tense of shall. In the
indirect form of speech ‘shall’ changes into
should:

I said, “I shall go to school tomorrow.”

I said that I should go to school the next
day.

(ii) Should is used to express obligation, duty,

etc.

You should look after your old parents.

You should pay all your taxes.

(iii) Should is used to give advice or suggestion:

You should consult a doctor.

She should do yoga exercises daily.
He should learn English if he wants to get
a good job.

(iv) Should is used to express purpose:

Mohan walked fast so that he should

catch the train.
Satish worked hard so that he should
stand [rst in the class.

(v) Should is used to state imaginary results:

He should get angry if he had come to

know about it.

(vi) Should is used to express polite requests:

I should be thankful if you give me some

money.

4. Need:
As a modal verb, need is usually followed by an
in[nitive without ‘to’:
The modal verb need is mainly used in
questions and negatives, which are formed
without ‘do’:
Need I go now? You need not go.

The negative need not is often shortened to

needn’t in the conversation and informal writing.
Need does not change its form, so the third
person singular of the present tense does not
end in’ —s’ :
He need not go there.
The modal verb need has no past tense. But it
can be used in the pattern followed by a past
participle:
Need not have/needn’t have
You needn’t have waited for me.
The negative and interrogative forms of the past
tense are:
Did not (didn’t) need and did I need?
In the present and future tenses, the negative
and interrogative can be formed in either of the
two ways:

(i) The nigtive need expresses absence of

obligation:

They need not send the letter now.

You need not go. (i.e., It is not necessary
for you to go).
He need not come now.

(ii) Need is used to express obligation or

necessity:

Need I attend the class today?

Need he solve all the sums?

(iii) Need not + perfect in[nitive is used to

express an unnecessary action which was
performed:

You needn’t have gone to see the doctor.

He was on leave today.
You needn’t have carried an umbrella as it
was not raining.

5. Ought
Ought is usually followed by ‘to’ and an in[nitive:

You ought to tell the truth.

It does not change its form so that the third

person singular form does not end in ‘-s’:

She ought to work a little harder.

It can be used as a present, past, or future

tense.
The negative is ought not (oughtn’t) and the
interrogative is ought I?, Ought you?, Ought he?,
etc:

Ought I do it at once?
He ought not disobey his teachers.

(i) Ought to is used for expressing what is the

right or sensible thing to do, or the right way to
behave:

You ought to get up earlier.

We ought to exercise daily.
Teachers ought not smoke before
students.

(ii) Ought to is used when we believe strongly or

expect that something will happen:

The Indian team ought to win.

Satish ought to pass.
The meeting ought to have [nished by 2
o’clock.

(iii) Ought to see/hear/meet, is used for

emphasising how good, impressive or unusual
something or someone is:

You ought to see their new house.

You ought to meet his elder brother.

(iv) Ought to have is used when we realise that

we did not do the right thing in the past:

You ought to have listened to my advice.

She ought to have taken the money.

Ought, must, have to, and should

Note: Ought is used to express the subject’s
obligation or duty. But it indicates neither the
speaker’s authority as with must nor an outside
authority as with have to. The speaker is only
reminding the subject of his duty. Besides this,
he is giving advice or indicating a correct or
sensible action.

Ought can be used in exactly the same way as

should:

You ought to/should obey your parents.

Have to and must:
You have to be regular. (These are the
rules.)
You must obey your teachers. (The
speaker insists on it.)
You have to take this medicine. (The
doctor insists on it.)
You must take this medicine. (The speaker
insists on it or It is the speaker’s emphatic
advice.)
You mustn’t drink this, it is poison,
(prohibition)
You oughtn’t to smoke so much. (It is not
right or sensible.)

Exercise (Solved)

Fill in the blanks with appropriate modals:

1. We…………………… obey our teachers, (have

to, must)
2. She…………………………. pass this time, (ought
to, has to)
3. He…………………. not buy a car. (has to, need)
4. He works hard lest he…………………… fail,
(should, must)
5. Do you……………………. cook your own meal?
(should, have to)
l. The villagers…………………. use kerosene
lamps a few years ago. (must, had to)
7. The old lady…………… take a bath every day
before taking meals, (ought to, should)
m. She……………….. [nish this work before I go.
(has to, must)
9. Ramesh said that they…………….. report for
duty on Monday, (should, ought to)
10. We………………………….. prepare our lessons
well before the examination. (ought to,
must)

Answer:

1. must
2. ought to
3. need
4. should
5. have to
l. had to
7. should
m. must
9. should
10. ought to

Exercise (Unsolved)

Fill in the blanks with appropriate modals:

1. We………………….. pay attention to our

studies, (ought to, should)
2. You………………………… not litter the
classroom, (should, could)
3. I talk to you immediately, (need to, ought
to)
4. They will………………… clear all the doubts
before the starting of meeting, (have to,
had to)
5. He………………….. take those medicines to get
better, (has to, had to)
l. You………………. consult a physician, (should,
ought to)
7. You………………….. exercise daily, (ought to,
need)
m. They………………. not send the letter now.
(need, would)
9. Sahil ran fast so that he………………… catch
the train, (should, needs)
10. You………………………… not use the o^ce
phone for private calls, (must, have to)

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