MODAL AUXILIARIES

Modals, Modal Auxiliaries - English Grammar

Modals, Modal Auxiliaries

can - to be able to/to be allowed to

do/does in questions

have got or has got

have or have got

have to, has to, had to

Long- and short forms

may - to be allowed to

Modals

must - to have to

Sentences and questions with can, must

The verb be - auxiliary and main verb

The verb do - auxiliary and main verb

The verb have - auxiliary and main verb

What are modal auxiliaries?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modals, Auxiliaries

be, have and do can be auxiliaries und full verbs.
Modals are: can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, would and need
(need can be a full verb, too).

We can play football.

We could play football.

We may play football.

We might play football.

We must play football.

We mustn't play football.

We needn't play football.

We ought to play football.

We shall play football.

We should play football.

We will play football.

We would play football.

Note:

1)	Do not use modals for things which happen definitely.	The sun rises in the East.
2)	They do not have an -s in the 3rd person singular.	He can play football.
3)	Questions are formed without do/does/did.	Can he speak Spanish?
4)	It follows a full verb in the infinitive.	They must read the book.
5)	There are no past forms (except could and would).	He was allowed to watch the film.
6)	When you use the past particple, you tell about things which did not happen in the past.	You should have told me.

Form

positive		negative
long form	contracted form	long form	contracted form
can	--	cannot	can't
could	--	could not	couldn't
may	--	may not	--
might	--	might not	--
ought to	--	ought not to	oughtn't to
--	--	need not	needn't
shall	'll	shall not	shan't
should	'd	--	shouldn't
will	'll	will not	won't
would	'd	would not	wouldn't

We often use to be able to or to be allowed to instead of "can". We can only form the Past of "can" (could). To put "can" into other tenses we need the phrases to be able to or to be allowed to.

Affirmative sentences

Tense	Modal	Form
Simple Present	I can play football.	I am able to play football. I'm able to play football.
		I am allowed to play football. I'm allowed to play football.
Simple Past	I could play football.	I was able to play football.
		I was allowed to play football.
will-future	Do not use can in the will-future.	I will be able to play football. I'll be able to play football.
		I will be allowed to play football. I'll be allowed to play football.

Other possible tenses:
e.g. Present Perfect: I have been able to play football.

Negations

Tense	Modal	Form
Simple Present	I cannot play football. I can't play football.	I am not able to play football. I'm not able to play football.
		I am not allowed to play football. I'm not allowed to play football.
Simple Past	I could not play football. I couldn't play football.	I was not able to play football. I wasn't able to play football.
		I was not allowed to play football. I wasn't allowed to play football.
will-future	Do not use cannot in the will-future.	I will not be able to play football. I won't be able to play football.
		I will not be allowed to play football. I won't be allowed to play football.

Questions

Tense	Modal	Form
Simple Present	Can he play football?	Is he able to play football?
		Is he allowed to play football?
Simple Past	Could he play football?	Was he able to play football?
		Was he allowed to play football?
will-future	Do not use can in the will-future.	Will he be able to play football?
		Will he be allowed to play football?

e substitute "may" with "to be allowed to".

Affirmative sentences

Tense	Modal	Form
Simple Present	I may play football.	I am allowed to play football. I'm allowed to play football.
Simple Past	Do not use may in the Simple Past.	I was allowed to play football.
will-future	Do not use may in the will-future.	I will be allowed to play football. I'll be allowed to play football.

There are also other tenses possible:
e.g. Present Perfect: I have been allowed to play football.

Negations

Tense	Modal	Form
Simple Present	I may not play football.	I am not allowed to play football. I'm not allowed to play football.
Simple Past	Do not use may not in the Simple Past.	I was not allowed to play football. I wasn't allowed to play football.
will-future	Do not use may not in the will-future.	I will not be allowed to play football. I won't be allowed to play football.

Questions

Tense	Modal	Form
Simple Present	May he play football.	Is he allowed to play football?
Simple Past	Do not use may in the Simple Past.	Was he allowed to play football?
will-future	Do not use may in the will-future.	Will he be allowed to play football?

We substitute "must" with "to have to".
Be careful: The negation of must means not allowed to.

Affirmative sentences

Tense	Modal	Form
Simple Present	I must play football.	I have to play football.
Simple Past	Do not use must in the Simple Past.	I had to play football.
will-future	Do not use must in the will-future.	I will have to play football.

Negations

Tense		Modal	Form
Simple Present	1	I must not play football. I mustn't play football.	I am not allowed to play football. I'm not allowed to play football.
	2	I need not play football. I needn't play football.	I do not have to play football. I don't have to play football.
	3	I do not need to play football. I don't need to play football.
Simple Past	1	Do not use must not in the Simple Past.	I was not allowed to play football. I wasn't allowed to play football.
	2	Do not use need not in the Simple Past.	I did not have to play football. I didn't have to play football.
	3	I did not need to play football. I didn't need to play football.
will-future	1	Do not use must not in the will-future.	I will not be allowed to play football. I won't be allowed to play football.
	2	Do not use need not in the will-future.	I will not have to play football. I won't have to play football.
	3	I will not need to play football. I won't need to play football.

Questions

Tense		Modal	Form
Simple Present	4	Must he play football?	Does he have to play football?
	5	Does he need to play football?
Simple Past	4	Do not use must in the Simple Past.	Did he have to play football?
	5	Did he need to play football?
will-future	4	Do not use must in the will-future.	Will he have to play football?
	5	Will he need to play football?

1) Questions without question words in the Simple Present

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Do	you	read	books?	Yes,	I	do.
				No,	I	don't.
Does	Peter	play	football?	Yes,	he	does.

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2) Questions with question words in the Simple Present

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	do	you	play	on your computer?	I play games on my computer.
When	does	your mother	go	to work?	She goes to work at 6 o'clock.
Where	do	you	meet	your friends?	I meet them at the bus stop.

Yes/No questions - be (am, are, is)

Subject and verb change their position in statement and question.

statement	You are from Germany.
question	Are you from Germany?

We always use the short answer, not only "Yes" or "No".
NOTE:
If the answer is "Yes", we always use the long form.
Example: Yes, I am.
If the answer is "No", we either use the long or the contrated form (short form).
Example: No, I am not - No, I'm not.

Are	you	from Germany?	Yes,	I	am.
			No,	I	am not. 'm not.
Is	he	your friend?	Yes,	he	is.
Are	Peter and John	from England?	Yes,	they	are.

Questions with question words - be (am, are, is)

Question word	Verb	Rest	Answer
Where	are	you from?	I'm from Stuttgart.
What	is	your name?	My name is Peter.
How	are	Pat and Sue?	They're fine.

Use the same form of the auxiliary can every time regardless the subject.

Questions without question words				Short answer
Can	you	speak	English?	Yes,	I	can.
Can	you	climb	a tree?	No,	I	can't. cannot.
Can	he	play	rugby?	Yes,	he	can.
Can	Mandy	read	poems?	Yes,	she	can.
Can	they	sing	nice songs?	No,	they	can't. cannot.

Questions with question words					Answer
What	can	Emily	ride?		Emily can ride a skateboard.
Where	can	Frank	play	the trumpet?	Frank can play the trumpet in his room.
When	can	she	see	her friends?	She can see her friends after school.

 

 

Modals - English Grammar

1) can

Use	Examples
ability to do sth. in the present (substitute form: to be able to)	I can speak English.
permission to do sth. in the present (substitute form: to be allowed to)	Can I go to the cinema?
request	Can you wait a moment, please?
offer	I can lend you my car till tomorrow.
suggestion	Can we visit Grandma at the weekend?
possibility	It can get very hot in Arizona.

2) could

Use	Examples
ability to do sth. in the past (substitute form: to be able to)	I could speak English.
permission to do sth. in the past (substitute form: to be allowed to)	I could go to the cinema.
polite question *	Could I go to the cinema, please?
polite request *	Could you wait a moment, please?
polite offer *	I could lend you my car till tomorrow.
polite suggestion *	Could we visit Grandma at the weekend?
possibility *	It could get very hot in Montana.

3) may

Use	Examples
possibility	It may rain today.
permission to do sth. in the present (substitute form: to be allowed to)	May I go to the cinema?
polite suggestion	May I help you?

4) might

Use	Examples
possibility (less possible than may) *	It might rain today.
hesitant offer *	Might I help you?

5) must

Use	Examples
force, necessity	I must go to the supermarket today.
possibility	You must be tired.
advice, recommendation	You must see the new film with Brad Pitt.

6) must not/may not

Use	Examples
prohibition	You mustn't work on dad's computer. You may not work on dad's computer.

7) need not

Use	Examples
not necessary	I needn't go to the supermarket, we're going to the restaurant tonight.

8) ought to

Use	Examples
advice	You ought to drive carefully in bad weather.
obligation	You ought to switch off the light when you leave the room.

9) shall

instead of will in the 1st person

Use	Examples
suggestion	Shall I carry your bag?

10) should

Use	Examples
advice	You should drive carefully in bad weather.
obligation	You should switch off the light when you leave the room.

11) will

Use	Examples
wish, request, demand, order (less polite than would)	Will you please shut the door?
prediction, assumption	I think it will rain on Friday.
promise	I will stop smoking.
spontaneous decision	Can somebody drive me to the station? - I will.
habits	She's strange, she'll sit for hours without talking.

12) would

Use	Examples
wish, request (more polite than will)	Would you shut the door, please?
habits in the past	Sometimes he would bring me some flowers.

* no past forms - future forms