Modal Auxiliaries

• It is a type of verb that shows the ability, permission, request,

capacity, suggestion, order…..
• There are two types of M.A.
1. Simple modal auxiliaries
2. Perfect modal auxiliaries
• Both are same but uses are different.
• Shall, Will, Would, Can, Could, May, Might, Should, Must,
Ought to, Need to, Dare to
• These all are Simple and Perfect M.A.
• First of all there are three universal rules for each and every
M.A.
1. M.A. are always used with V1
2. Never put TO before M.A.
3. Never change the form of M.A. in same sentence.
 Simple Modal Auxiliaries
• Sentence formation of Active, Passive, Negative, Interrogative is for
all M.A. is same.
• ACTIVE = SUB + M.A. + V1 + OBJ
• PASSIVE = OBJ + M.A. + BE + V3 + BY + SUB
• NEGATIVE = SUB + M.A. + NOT + V1 + OBJ
• INTERROGATIVE = M.A. + SUB + V1 + OBJ + ?
• 1] Can
• It is a form of Present tense.
• It is used to indicate ability and strength and sometime permission.
• I can lift the huge stone.
• I can walk fast.
• Can I have your number ?
• Tough work can be done by me.
• I cannot solve this problem.
• 2] Could
• Use is same as CAN but it is used to indicate past tense.
• It is also used for permission.
• I could do that….that means in the past.
• I could walk very fast in my young age.
• Could you please give me a glass of water?
• Tough work could be done by me.
• I could not escape from there.
• 3] Should
• It is used to indicate moral duty, suggestion or advice.
• People should obey the rules.
• We should brush our teeth twice a day.
• Animals should be protected by humans.
• Should we drink lot of water ?
• People should not harm others.
• Ought to is a synonym of Should.
• We ought to brush our teeth twice a day.
• Animals ought to be protected by humans.
• PLEASE REMEMBER = SHOULD is not the past tense of SHALL
• 4] Shall/Will
• We have already seen the use of this two words in future tense.
• These two words are used to show the futurity.
• Things that are going to be happened in future.
• 5] Would
• It is a past tense of Shall/Will.
• It is used to indicate the actions that possibly be happened in the past.
• It is also used to indicate wish or desire.
• Also use for getting permission. (Sometimes)
• It is also used to describe regular past events.
• For example = my father would wake up early in the morning. That means in
past it was a regular action of my father to wake up early in the morning.
• Would you teach me English?
• I would prefer tea.
• I would do that project.
• The project would be done by me.
• 6] May
• It is used to indicate possibility in present.
• It is used to indicate permission also.
• Mostly this word use in a formal way.
• May I come in?
• This work may be done by him.
• My father may be at home.
• I am not sure. I may not go to that party.
• 7] Might
• It shows the possibility in the past.
• I might forget the keys in the drawer.
• Project might be done by him.
• I might not give her money.
• 8] Must
• It shows the compulsion.
• The only use of this word is compulsion.
• You must do your work by yourself.
• Have to, Has to are the synonyms of must in present tense.
• We have to reach there early.
• He has to come early.
• Had to is a synonym of Must in past tense
• Had to shows the compulsion in past tense.
• I had to wake up early yesterday.
• This work must be completed by tomorrow.
• This work has to be completed by tomorrow.
• This work had to be completed yesterday.
• You must not harm animals.
• I have not to do this work.
• I had not to do this work.
• 9] Need and Dare
• Dare = to challenge someone, have courage to do something.
• Need = it shows necessity to do something, it is also sometimes used as a replacement of Must.
• These two are considered as main verbs as well as modal verbs that is why they are called semi-
modals.
• Most important instructions about these two:
• Now, as a semi-modal these two are used in Negative and in Interrogative sentences.
• Here when we use these two words as semi-modal, we cannot put S in third person singular.
• He need not go to the party.
• I dare not ask him.
• Need he say more ?
• Dare I ask him ?
• He dare not ask her.
• Dare I suggest him something ?
• Now past tense of Need is not used as a semi-modal but past tense of Dare can be used as
Dared sometimes.
• I dared not tell him the truth.
• Dared you tell him the truth ?
• Now, if we want to use Need and Dare in a positive sentence, there must be a word with
negative sense in the sentence.
• He never need worry about all this.
• No-one dare ask him about the truth.
• Now when we use Need and Dare as main verb, we have to put TO
after that
• Need to and Dare to.
• Here all the rules of 3rd person singular will be applicable.
• He needs to finish his homework tonight,
• Does he need to finish his homework tonight.
• I need to completer my project.
• My project needs to be completed by me.
• He dares to challenge me.
• Does he dare to challenge me ?
• He needed to come early.
• Did he need to come early ?
• Did he dare to climb mountain ?
• Yes, he dared to climb mountain.
• I need it.
• He needs it.
 Exercise
• ………. I ……… your text book, Anand ? [take]
• Perhaps our class teacher ………. our notebooks. [check]
• ……… you ….. this window, please ? [open]
• I am strong. I …….. this heavy box. [carry]
• Every passenger …… his ticket to ticket checker. [show]
• The doctor ….. the patient thoroughly. [examine]
• Pupils ……. the rules of school. [obey]
• What …….. you ……, a novel or a story book ? [prefer]
• The bus was late. I ……. not ……. on time. [reach]
• What ….. I ……. for you ? [do]
• I wanted to attend the party, but I ….. not …… it. [attend]
• ……. I ….. in sir ? [come]
• The house is locked. They …… out of the town. [to be]
• The police man is on the cross road. We …… to the left. [drive]
• My grandfather is old, but he …… easily. [work]
 Perfect Modal Auxiliaries
• In this type of M.A. we will use HAVE + V3 in our sentence formation.
• Again sentence formation is same for all model auxiliaries
• ACTIVE = SUB + M.A. + HAVE + V3 + OBJ
• PASSIVE = OBJ + M.A. + HAVE + BEEN + V3 + BY + SUB
• NEGATIVE = SUB + M.A. + NOT + HAVE + V3 + OBJ
• INTERROGATIVE = M.A. + SUB + HAVE + V3 + OBJ + ?
• 1] Can/Could
• This two are indicating the things that might have happened but did not
happen.
• Can is for present and could is for past.
• If I had reached there earlier, I could have saved him.
• It shows strength and ability in an imaginary way.
• He could have been saved by me.
• I could not saved him
• Could I have saved him ?
• 2] Should
• Use is same as simple modal auxiliary but it is used to say that
things should have happened in the past.
• For example= you should have learn something from movie.
• That means in the past you should learn
• Should + Have + V3 shows that things should have happened
in the past.
• Difference is
• You should do your work quickly. That means in the present.
• You should have done your work quickly. That means in the
past.
• Work should have been done by you. This is passive.
• You should not have done this work. This is negative
• Should you have done this work ? This is interrogative.
• We can replace Should with Ought to
• 3] Shall/Will
• We have already learn perfect future tense .
• Use is same as perfect future tense.
• I will have done my work by the next summer.
• 4] Would
• Would + have + v3 ….it indicates the things that would
have happened in the past.
• If I had got up early, I would have reached there earlier.
• That means in the past I would have reached earlier.
• Project would have been done by me. This is passive.
• I would have done the project. This is positive
• I would not have done the project. This is negative.
• Would I have done the project ? This is interrogative.
• 5] May and Might
• These two show the same meaning and past tense with
Have.
• It shows the possibility of past.
• It shows the things that could have been happened in the
past but did not.
• If I had worked hard, I might have cracked the exam.
• I may have reached on time, if I was not late.
• They can be used at each other’s place but Might + Have
+ V3 is most commonly used.
• I might have forgiven you. This is positive .
• I might not have forgiven you. This is negative.
• You might have been forgiven by me. This is passive.
• Might I have forgiven you ? This is interrogative.
• 6] Must
• Must + Have + V3 it is used to show the surety in
the past.
• It shows the compulsion in the past.
• Milk must have been drunk by him. This is
passive.
• He must have drunk the milk. This is positive.
• He must not have drunk the milk. This is negative.
• Must he have drunk the milk ? This is
interrogative.
• We can use Has to, Have to and Had to in place of
Must.
• 7] Need and Dare
• Use of these two are same .
• Again we have to use them in negative and in
interrogative sentence.
• You need not have waited until I come.
• You dare not have told him the truth.
• This means they are talking in the past.
• Need he have waited until I come ?
• Dare he have asked me truth ?
• Rules of 3rd person singular are not applicable here.
• No-one need have done the homework.
• As a main verb also the use and sentence
formation is same.
• Need to + Have + V3
• Dare to + Have + V3
• He needs to have done his homework .
• He dares to have asked him the truth.
• In the past tense the sentence formation is same.
• He needed to have done his homework.
• He dared to have asked him the truth.
 Exercise
• By 2021 all the people …….. in India. [educate]
• The tap is not closed. It ……… open by somebody. [keep]
• If the government had taken precautionary steps, we ……..
much. [suffer]
• The vegetables ……… bad, if you had not kept them in the
refrigerator. [go]
• Don’t worry. The problem …….. before the guests come.
[solve]
• If he had been here, he ……… the party. [attend]
• By the next term, the construction of the dam …….. [finish]
• Had you not helped me, I ……… not …….. [succeed]
• The doctor …… the blood pressure of the patients, before he
had operated him. [check]
• I hope he ……… writing his first novel by the next year. [finish]
 Use of ‘Used to’, ‘To be used to’, ‘To get used to’

• Used to:
• Here this word shows the habit in the past.
• Used to means Habituated to.
• For example = I used to wake up early in my childhood.
• We have to put the V1 that is main form after To.
• Negative = I used not to get up early in my childhood.
OR I did not use to get up early in my childhood.
• Did I use to get up early in my childhood ? This is
interrogative
• I used to be got up early by my mother in my
childhood. This is passive = BE + V3.
• To be used to:
• Here please remember two things.
• First = in place of To be, we can write Is, Am, Are, Was,
Were
• Second = here To is not an infinitive, but it is a preposition.
That is why we cannot put main form of verb after To. We
have to put Noun, Pronoun or Gerund after that.
• I am used to walking fast.
• Indian people are used to hot summer.
• I am used to them.
• I was used to running long distance.
• Negative = I am not used to walking fast.
• Interrogative = Am I used to walking fast ?
• Passive = Cricket is used to be played by me.
• To get used to:
• Here instead of Is, Am, Are, Was, Were, we will put
Get used to or Got used to.
• ‘Get used to, indicates Present and ‘Got used to’
indicates Past.
• Second rule as we have seen in ‘To be used to’ is
same.
• He gets used to walking fast.
• Negative = He does not get used to walking fast.
• Interrogative = Does he get used to walking fast ?
• Passive = Maggie gets used to be cooked by me.
• I got used to running fast.
• I did not get used to running fast.