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Modals

The document provides an overview of modal auxiliaries, their uses, and examples. It explains how modals express ability, possibility, obligation, and past habits, and includes fill-in-the-blank exercises for practice. Key modals discussed include can, could, may, might, shall, will, would, must, ought to, need, and dare.

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14 views9 pages

Modals

The document provides an overview of modal auxiliaries, their uses, and examples. It explains how modals express ability, possibility, obligation, and past habits, and includes fill-in-the-blank exercises for practice. Key modals discussed include can, could, may, might, shall, will, would, must, ought to, need, and dare.

Uploaded by

civnirmaladas
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 PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MODAL AUXILIARIES

✱ Modal auxiliaries are verbs such as can, could,


may, might, shall, should, will, would, must,
ought to, used to, need, dare.
✱ They are used with main verbs to express such
ideas as possibility, permission, necessity,
obligation, etc.
✱ They cannot stand on their own unless they
are used in a question tag.
Example- should go must attend
can park may take
However, in question tags, modals can be used
alone:
Example - You can lift this box, can’t you?
✱ They do not change with the person or
number of the subject.
✱ The main verb used after a modal must be in
the root (v1) form. ( can, take, should, do)
ABILITY- CAN, COULD

1. Can – It is used to express ability in present


tense
e.g. I can ski.
Can she speak French?
2. Could - It is used to express ability in past
tense
e.g. He could read when he was three.
=> Could is also used to make a more polite
form of request than can
e.g. Could you tell me the way to the post
office?

POSSIBILITY- MAY, MIGHT


May - It is used to express possibility
e.g. It may rain today.
=> It is used to express permission
e.g. May I take photographs here?

Might is also used to express possibility


e.g. She might come and meet you.
=> Might is used when the chances of
something happening are less or rare
e.g. He hasn’t studied at all. But he
might pass.
=> Might is also used as past tense of may
in the indirect speech
e.g. My brother said that he might go to
England for studies.

SHALL, WILL
Shall and will are used to express an action
taking place in future
e.g. I shall plant a tree on my birthday.
They will shift to Mumbai very soon.
=> Shall is also used to express offers of service
in the question form
e.g. Shall I carry your bag?
=> Will is used to express a polite request or
offer in the question form
e.g. Will you have another cup of tea?

WOULD, SHOULD
Would is used to express a polite request
e.g. Would you turn off the television?
=> Would is used to say politely what you
want to do
e.g. I would like to express my views
regarding ‘brain drain’.
=> Would is also used to express a habitual
action in the past
e.g. When I was young, my mother would
accompany me to school.
=> Should is used to express obligation
e.g. You should wear proper uniform when
come to school.

OBLIGATION- MUST, OUGHT TO


Must is used to express strong obligation or
compulsion
e.g. You must maintain silence in the
library.
=> Ought to is used to express obligation
e.g. You ought to obey the traffic rules.

USED TO Past habit


e.g. He used to do his work sincerely.

NEED
e.g. He need not go there.
DARE
e.g. I daren't think how many victims there are.
Don't you dare interrupt me!

Q. Fill in the blanks with appropriate modals:


1. ……………. you mind posting this letter?
[should/would]
2. We………………….. pay attention to our studies,
(ought to, should)
3. You………………………… not litter the classroom,
(should, could)
4. I ……………. talk to you immediately, (need to,
ought to)
5. You………………. consult a physician, (should,
ought to)
6. We………………….. exercise daily, (ought to,
need)
7. I ………… you to jump from this hill. (dare /
need )
8. Hari ran fast so that he………………… catch the
train, (should, could)
9. You …………….…. to complete your work before
5 pm. ( would/ need)
10. Parents ………………………… teach their
children to be honest. (should, would)
11. He ……………. be tired after such hard work.
[can/ might]
12. She …………………… dance before she fell ill.
[must/ used to]
13. …………… you lend me your bicycle? [May/
Will]
14. We ____________ stop when the traffic
lights are red. [must/dare]
15. ____________you go with me? [Will/ Shall]

There are plenty of tomatoes in the fridge. You


needn't buy any.
This is a hospital. You mustn't smoke here.
He had been working for more than 11 hours.
He must be tired after such haed work. He may
prefer to get some rest.
I could speak Arabic fluently when I was a child
and we lived in Morocco. But after we moved
back to Canada, I had very little exposure to the
language and forgot almost everything I knew as
a child. Now, I canjust say a few things in the
language.
The teacher said we can read this book for our
own pleasure as it is optional. But we needn't
read it if we don't want to.
Canyou stand on your head for more than a
minute? No, I can't.
If you want to learn to speak English fluently,
you needn't worry. We will help you become a
fluent speaker but you have to work hard..
Take an umbrella. It might rain later.
You shouldn't leave small objects lying around .
Such objects may be swallowed by children.
People mustn't walk on the grass.
Drivers must stop when the traffic lights are red.
May I ask a question? Yes, of course.
You needn't take your umbrella. It is not raining.
Can you speak Italian? No, I can't.

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