MODAL VERBS

 Conjugation Auxiliary Verb Form

Simple modal auxiliary bare infinitive

Continuous modal auxiliary + be present participle
Perfect modal auxiliary + have past participle
Perfect Continuous modal auxiliary + have been present participle

Verbs in the Simple conjugation with a modal auxiliary generally refer to present or
future time; whereas verbs in the Perfect conjugation with a modal auxiliary generally
refer to past time.

Verbs in the Continuous conjugation with a modal auxiliary generally refer to

continuous, ongoing actions in present or future time; whereas verbs in the Perfect
Continuous conjugation with a modal auxiliary generally refer to continuous, ongoing
actions in past time.

 The word order for questions and negative statements in the conjugations with the
modal auxiliaries is similar to that in other English conjugations.

She can work. Can she work?

He would be working.
They should have worked.
I could have been working.
She cannot work.
Would he be working?
He would not be working.
Should they have worked?
They should not have worked.
Could I have been working?
I could not have been working.

Questions
Without Contractions With Contractions

Can she not work? Can't she work?

Would he not be working? Wouldn't he be working?
Should they not have worked? Shouldn't they have worked?
Could I not have been working? Couldn't I have been working?

 Relationships among the modal auxiliaries

Present Past
can could
may might
must must
shall should
will would

I think I can do it. I thought I could do it.

He predicts it may rain. He predicted it might rain.
She knows she must be there. She knew she must be there.
I wonder what we shall do tomorrow. I wondered what we should do the next day.

 Modal verbs can be used to express these ideas about the past, present and future.

 Deduction
The most definite degree of certainty can be expressed with will and won't, followed by
must and can't/couldn't, should and shouldn't, may and may not, and might/could
and might not, which express the least definite degree of certainty.

(1) Present/Future

 When we believe that a future state or event is certain to occur, we use will or
won't:
I'll be working on this report all afternoon.
We won't be back in until tomorrow.

 When we deduce that a future state or event is the most logical or rational outcome,
we use must or can't/couldn't:
You must be joking! That's just totally illogical!
You can't be serious! That's just totally illogical!
He couldn't be there now, surely. He always leaves at 4.30.

 When we want something to happen, and it is reasonable to expect it to, we use

should or shouldn't:
We should be able to go to Spain next holidays if we keep saving at this rate.
It shouldn't take us long to clean up this mess if we all help.

 When we wish to express the something will possibly happen, we use may or may
not:
We may go to the party - we haven't quite decided yet.
You may not be able to get in if you turn up at the last minute.

 When we want to express that something will possibly happen, but we are less
certain, we use might/could or might not:
He might be at home, but he usually goes shopping on Saturday morning.
He could be at home, but he usually goes shopping on Saturday morning.
She mightn't be able to come - her mother's very ill.

(Note that couldn't is not used in this way, but rather expresses a greater degree of
certainty)

(2) Past

All of these modal verbs can also be used to talk about degrees of certainty in the past
with the same meaning as in the present / future.

That will have been Ted you saw - he's seven feet tall.
It won't have been Sue you saw - she's blonde and is five feet tall.
That would have been Ted you saw - he's seven feet tall.
It wouldn't have been Sue you saw - she's blonde and is five feet tall.
That must have been fun - you love dancing, don't you?
It can't/couldn't have been much fun out on the boat - there were gale-force wind, I hear.
Where can they be? They should have been here a long time ago.
Where can they be? They shouldn't have taken this long.
She may have dropped by - we were out all morning.
She may not have been able to see properly in the heavy rain.
He might have had an accident!
She mightn't have even known we were going to be here.

Modal verbs (other uses)

Apart from being used to describe degrees of certainty, modal verbs can also be used in
the following ways:

 Obligation, prohibition and lack of obligation

We use must to convey strong obligation. The past form of must for obligation is had
to:
You must improve your work!
We had to leave the country immediately.
See must vs have to.

We use should to convey milder obligation / advice. The past form of should for mild
obligation is should have:
You should see a doctor.
You should have gone to visit your grandmother.

We use must not to convey prohibition. The past form of must not for prohibition is
wasn't/weren't allowed to:
You must not go into the mine - it's dangerous.
We weren't allowed to use our mobile phones in the building.

We use needn't / don’t have to to talk about a lack of obligation. The past form of
needn't for lack of obligation is needn't have:
You needn't / don’t have to go to the meeting.
We needn't have mentioned it - they already knew.

 Permission
We use may and can to give permission. The past is conveyed by was/were allowed to:
You may come in now, children.
Can we smoke in here?
The prisoners were allowed to sit down to eat their lunch.
We were only allowed to smoke in the garden.

 Ability
We use can to speak about ability. The past form of can for ability is could:
He can speak five different languages.
She could play the piano beautifully when she was six.
Willingness and lack of willingness

 Willingness
We use will to say we are willing to do something:
I will come, but only with a police escort.
Will you act as interpreter?

We use won't to say we are not willing to do something. The past form of won't is
wouldn't:
I won't do it, and that's final!
He wouldn't promise anything.

 Typical behaviour
We can use will to talk about actions that are habitual. The past form of will for typical
behaviour is would:
She will spend hours playing with the children.
He would wash his car every Sunday morning.