CLASS 10 ENGLISH GRAMMAR

MODALS

Definition:

 The modals are used to indicate a certain possibility, abilities, doubts,

suggestions, requests, and more. The examples of modal verbs are can,
could, would, may, might, must, etc.
 The modals are a type of verb that basically portray or show the tense and
the mood. It helps us to know the function and the purpose of the main verb.
 Modal verbs indicate a probability, an ability, permission, any advice, a
request, an obligation, a prediction, or certainty or likelihood of an incident
to occur.
 The modals are also known as modal auxiliary verbs. They help in
delivering any extra information about the main verb’s function.

USE OF MODALS

CAN/COULD

Can is used for all persons in the present tense.

Could is used for all persons in the past tense.
CAN is used

1. to express permission

2. to express ability
3. to express possibility

4. ‘Can’t help’ is an idiom. It means ‘Can’t avoid’; e.g.

He has a bad cold. He can’t help sneezing.
The boys can’t help laughing on seeing the clown.
 COULD must be used
to express ability, permission and possibility when the main verb is in the past
tense; as—

I could swim well when I was younger. (ability)

Could you lend me some money, please?
Could you tell me the time, please?
Could you wait for a few minutes?

MAY/MIGHT

‘May’ is used for all persons of the present and future tense.
‘May’ is used

1. to express or to seek permission: [in a formal way]

You may go
2. May I come in, Sir?
3. Students may not bring any book or paper in the examination hall.
(permission refused)
4. to express possibility:
It may rain. He may come today.
5. to express a wish:
May he live long! May she enjoy good health!
6. to express purpose:
He works hard so that he may pass.

MIGHT

Might is used for all persons of the past tense.

(i) to seek permission:

‘Might I’ can be used instead of ‘May I’ when asking for permission and ‘Might I’
is a more polite form. The use of ‘might’ shows that the speaker is rather hesitant
or doubtful about making the request; as—

(i) May I use your phone?

(ii) Might I use your phone?

Both express the same idea, but the second sentence is more polite.
(ii) to express possibility:
‘Might’ expresses greater doubt than ‘may’.
‘Might’ suggests remote/distant possibility; as—

It might rain. He might come today.

(iii) to put forward a suggestion:

‘Might’ is often used to put forward a suggestion or offer advice which you are a
little hesitant about; as—

You might try again. (= But I am not certain if you should)

You might wait.

(iv) in conditional sentences:

‘May / Might ’ can be used instead of ‘shall / will’ and ‘should / would’ in the
conditional sentences respectively to express a possible result; as—

If you work hard, you may pass, (possibility)

If she had left early, she might have reached by now.

Might must be used when the main verb of the sentence is in the past tense.
(i) to express permission:
He said that I might borrow his car.
The teacher said that the boy might go.

(ii) to express possibility:

He thought that I might like it.
Sudha said that she might go abroad next year.

(iii) to express speculation (guess) about past actions. ‘Might have’ is used for
past time.
He told me that she might have finished her work.
This medicine might have cured your cough.
Both ‘May’ and ‘might’ are used to suggest ‘there is a good reason’-, as—
You may as well say so.
She might as well come by the next train.
You might just as well go as not.
(There is just as much to be said in favour of going as against it)

WILL/SHALL

(а) With the second and third persons, will is used

1. to express simple future:

She will leave for Ambala tomorrow.
Lata will sing a song.
You will study in the evening.
2. to express an invitation or request Here ‘will you’? is not a question in
the ordinary sense; as—
Will you care for a cup of tea? (Invitation)
Will you please lend me your pen? (Request)
3. to express command in an informal or impersonal manner expecting that
it will be surely obeyed; as—
All new boys will report for a medical check-up.
‘‘You will not leave the class before completing your homework,” said the
teacher.
Officers will appear properly dressed in public places.
4. to express something that happens again and again and is likely to recur;
as—
The old woman will sit in the park and sing songs.
Vinod will go to the coffee house and discuss politics.
Some persons will walk in the middle of the road.
5. to express quantity or capacity; as—
This jug will hold two litres of water.
Two hundred persons will be seated in this tent.
6. to express prediction; as—
It is too close, it will rain.
You will fall ill, if you eat all that.

7. (b) ‘Will’ with the First Person is used

1. to express willingness or offer; as—

I will help you as far as possible.
I will carry that parcel for you.
 2. to express intention or promise; as—
I will go home to see my mother.
We will come in time.
3. to express threat; as—
I will beat you.
I will teach him a lesson.
4. to express determination; as—
I will lay down my life for my country.
I will not take eggs; I am a strict vegetarian.

SHALL

(a) With the first person,‘shall’ is used

1. to express simple future; as—

We shall leave for Delhi tomorrow.
I shall go for a long drive this evening.
2. to express the plan or intention of the speaker; as—
We shall shift to our new house next week.
I shall go to Chandigarh via Rohtak.
3. to express an offer or suggestion; as—
Shall I shut the window?
Shall we sit in the lawn?

(b) With the second and third persons,‘shall’ is used

1. to express a command; as—

You shall do it. You shall remain here till he comes.
He shall report for duty at 8.30 a.m. tomorrow.
2. to express a threat; as—
You shall die for it. You shall not study further if you fail.
She shall be punished for her misdeeds.
He shall be sacked for his negligence.
3. to express a promise; as—
You shall get leave today.
You shall have a scooter if you pass.
He shall get a reward for his faithfulness.
4. to express command or wish of the person addressed if used with the
third person; as—
Shall he carry your luggage?
Shall he wait outside for you?
WOULD/SHOULD

Would is the past tense of ‘will’. ‘Would,’ is used

1. to denote the past tense of will/shall in indirect speech; as—

He said that he would go.
The officer said that he would look into the matter.
2. to express a habitual or customary activity in the past; as—
He would go for a swim in the sea every morning.
She would sit in the sun and talk all day.
3. to make a polite request (with the second person); as—
Would you spare some time for me?
Would you mind telling me the way to the post office?
4. To denote courtesy; as—
Would you stay for dinner?
Would you take a cup of tea?
(Note. Here ‘would you ’ is more polite than ‘will you’)
5. to express a wish; as—
Would that I were a film star!
Would that I were rich!
6. to express a preference; as—
I would like to ask you something.
I would rather die than beg.
7. To express improbable or unreal conditions; as—
If I won a lottery prize, I would build a hospital.
If I were an astronaut, I would take you to Mars.
Had you helped her, she would have succeeded.

SHOULD

Should is the past tense of shall. It is used

1. to denote the past tense of shall in indirect speech; as—

I said that I should go.
He said that they should report for duty on Monday.
2. to express obligation or advice:
We should respect our elders.
You should do your job well.
3. to express purpose:
She works hard lest she should fail.
 He worked hard so that he should pass the examination.
Hire a taxi, so that you shouldn’t miss your train.
4. to express probability or likelihood; as—
Should they play well, they will win.
If they should play well, they will win.

Here the use of ‘should’ is preferred to the present tense to express a very unlikely
condition.
If Udhay should come, I’ll inform you.

MUST

‘Must’ refers to the Present or the Future Tense.

Must is used

1. to express compulsion or necessity; as—

A servant must obey his master.
Every member must participate in the discussion,
2. to express duty or a very strong obligation; as—
We must work for the country. (duty)
You must practise virtue. (duty)
We must respect our parents. (obligation)
We must obey the laws of our country. (obligation)
3. to express emphatic advice; as—
You must reach home before sunset.
You must use seat-belt while driving a car.
4. to express determination; as—
I must see you again before the meeting.
You must become a doctor.
She must qualify the test.
5. to express certainty or strong belief; as—
All must die sooner or later.
Everyone must grow old and perish.
6. to express possibility or inference; as—
She must be at least fifty years old.
Nina must have reached the station by now.
7. to express logical necessity or expectation; as—
There must be some error in computation.
You must feel sorry for your misbehaviour.
 8. to express strong negation by ‘must not’; as—
He must not waste time in street plays.
You must not be rude to your elders.

MUSTN’T

Must not (Mustn’t) is used

1. to express prohibition or negative command; as—

You mustn’t jump the traffic lights.
One mustn’t smoke in the presence of ladies.
2. to express the prohibition of “very strong obligation’; as—
A peon mustn’t disobey his officer.
You mustn’t leave home without mother’s permission.
3. to express the prohibition of necessity; as—
You mustn’t bring cameras or sticks inside the hall.
Candidates mustn’t write anything except their roll numbers.

OUGHT

‘Ought’ refers to Present, Past, or Future Tense.

‘Ought’ is used

1. to express the sense of duty or moral obligation; as—

Students ought to prepare well for their examinations. (duty)
You ought to maintain communal harmony. (social obligation)
We ought to love our neighbours. (moral obligation)
She ought to consult some doctor. (advice)
We ought not to use unfair means in the examination. (advice)

Note. The sense of moral obligation springs from within. There is no outside force
or compulsion. ‘Must’ suggests the speaker’s authority and emphatic advice
‘should’ implies what is the proper or right action.
‘Ought to’ is less forceful and has the same meaning as ‘should’.

2. to express strong probability.

She ought to pass this time.

The past tense of ought is expressed with ought to have + Third form of the
verb; as—
You ought to have attended the meeting.
The driver ought to have applied the brakes.
She ought to have helped the old woman.
You ought not to have criticised me in public.

HAVE TO

1. Have to is used to express compulsion or necessity from without; as

I have to cook my own meals these days.
She has to help her mother in domestic affairs.
People had to walk miles to fetch drinking water.
2. Questions and negatives have formed both ways i.e. with or without
‘Do’; as—
Negatives: We don’t have to clean our own shoes.
We haven’t to clear our own shoes.
Questions: Do you have to cook your own meals?
Have you to cook your own meals?

NEED

1. As a regular verb, ‘need’ expresses requirement; as—

She needs money for a camera.
He needed your help.
I do not need any apples.
2. As modal auxiliary, need is used to express necessity or obligation.
It is used only in the Present Tense; as—
Need I to go there?
Need she to stay here more?
Need he bring more milk tomorrow?
3. Needn’t implies absence of necessity or obligation; as—
You needn’t go there again:
She needn’t wait for me.
Needn’t he go to the office today?

DARE

1. As a regular verb, ‘Dare’ means ‘Challenge\ It is used in all tenses. Its

forms are dare (dares), dared and dared.
He dares to go into the forest.
She dares to go into the forest.
She dared to go alone.
 I dare say that you are a liar.
He did not dare to come out with the truth.
She does not dare to offend me.
2. As a modal auxiliary, it means ‘to take courage’ or ‘venture’. Its other
forms are dare, durst (dared), durst. It is used only in
the Negative or Interrogative sentences.
He dare not enter my room. (Present)
She dare not oppose me.
He durst not open my letters. (Past)
How dare you open my letter? (Present)