What are modal verbs?

Modals (also called modal verbs, modal auxiliary verbs, modal auxiliaries) are special verbs
that behave irregularly in English. They are different from normal verbs like "work, play, visit..."
They give additional information about the function of the main verb that follows it. They have a
great variety of communicative functions.

Here are some characteristics of modal verbs:

They never change their form. You can't add "s", "ed", "ing"...
i.e., He must go.
They don’t have long infinitives. (Except ought to)
i.e., You may take the bike. /She ought to be more careful.
The negative form is formed with the help of the negation not.
i.e., Mary cannot open that window.
The interrogative is formed by inversion.
i.e., May they come?

NOTE
COULD, MIGHT, SHOULD and WOULD are not proper past tenses of CAN, MAY,
SHALL and WILL respectively. (they may also refer to present or future actions.)

They might be at home now.

You should see this film.

CAN, COULD+BARE INFINITIVE

.CAN -may be used to express

a present or future physical or mental ability

My sister can speak three foreign languages.
Martin can solve the problem for us.

continuity with verbs of perceptions (to hear, to see)

I can hear that noise now.
Henry can see that plane now.

permission in informal English:

Can I borrow your umbrella?
 To express possibility when certain circumstances permit:

If my cousins come to my village we can swim. (There is a big river near our village)

disbelief (can may be followed by Present or Perfect Infinitive)

Can Jake make such a mistake?

Polite requests

Can we call on you later?

Offers
I can give you a lift home.

To soften a statement or criticism

Olivia can be very demanding sometimes.

CAN’T

Lack of ability in the present or future

Dan can’t play football this weekend; he is away on holiday.

Logical assumptions about something that is unlikely or impossible

It’s seven o’clock; they can’t be at school now.

They can’t have given a better answer than this one.

CAN’T +HAVE+ PERFECT INFINITIVE

certainty about a past action or state
Virginia can’t have told everyone your secret. She is not that kind of person.

COULD

A past physical or mental ability

When she was young, she could skate very well. ( we can also use to be able to)
We could/were able to understand him very well.

Note!!
When the meaning is that of achievement we use to manage to, to succeed in
Although the driver was badly hurt he managed to get out of the car before the engine
exploded.
In the negative we may use could not /were not able to
I don’t know why Julian could not/weren’t able to finish that book

a Present Conditional
You could get there in time if you took a taxi.

A polite request
Could you show me the way to the railway station?

A past possibility depending on certain circumstances.

At the seaside we could buy a lot of souvenirs (There were a lot of shops near the beach.)

Suggestions
You could avoid eating dairy products to see if you feel better.

Annoyance at something
You could look more excited to see me.

COULD +HAVE+PAST PARTICIPLE

Possibility in the past

Driving home so late was so irresponsible. You could have fallen asleep at the wheel.

Annoyance about the failure to do something

You could have rung to say he’d be late.

Actions that were possible in the past but didn’t happen.

It was a fine evening, so we could have walked to the theater. (but we didn’t)

IDIOMS
MAY, MIGHT

formal permission
May I open the window?? Yes, you may/No, you may not.(to be allowed to/to be permitted
to)

possibility
It may rain in the afternoon. (in this case may can be replaced by It is possible/maybe/perhaps.
Maybe you know her.
It is possible for you to know her.
May + present continuous infinitive-possibility of something that continues now

prohibition (official notices)

Candidates may not bring dictionaries into the classroom.

Wishes, hopes
May all your dreams come true!

In clauses of concession
No matter how difficult/However difficult these exercises may be, you must do them all.

In clauses of purpose
Speak louder so that all of us may hear you.

MIGHT
Permission connected to the past
I understood that he might go out of her room whenever he wanted.
 To express remote or weaker possibility

Your cousin might be in the garden now(present)

Granny might arrive on Thursday(future)

When might is followed by perfect infinitive, it expresses a past possibility

Our neighbors might have heard some noises when our car was stolen
A persuasive request
You might go there at once!

Irritation, indignation, reproach

You might look at me when I am talking to you.

Uncertainty
I wonder who that tall boy might be.

In direct object clauses following the verbs to trust, to hope

They hoped that I might give them some bad advice
In clauses of purpose and concession

MIGHT +PERFECT+ INFINITIVE

Uncertainty about a past action

Dean might have told me, but I can’t remember.

Criticism
You might have worn me about that!

MUST

Obligation, command, necessity (have to)

You must show me your identity card

An obligation imposed by the speaker

 Deduction, a logical conclusion, or probability

If she left home at six, she must be at the airport now.

She must be at school now.
NOTE!
The negative deduction is expressed by can’t /couldn’t +present/perfect infinitive
The absence of obligation is rendered by don’t have to/haven’t got to or needn’t
In indirect Speech must expressing obligation remains as such or changes to had to when the
introductory verb is in a past tense.
The boy explained that he must/had to learn for the exam
The negative form must not remains unchanged in Indirect Speech

Must can be replaced by

I’m certain/I’m positive/I’m sure she is at school now.

Certainly/obviously she is at school now.
It is likely/probable she is at school now.
Probably she is at school now
She is likely to be at school now.

MUST +NOT
Prohibition
Cars must not stop at the crossings.

MUST +HAVE+ PAST INFINITIVE

Certainty about the past

Judging by these photos Alexandria must have been a beautiful city.

Logical assumption
Paul isn’t here yet. He must have missed the bus!

HAVE TO (SEMI-MODAL)
 Necessity, obligation
I had to return the books to the library.

NEED

As a modal, it has the same form for all persons and is chiefly used in the interrogative and negative. It
can occur in affirmative sentences with such words as NEVER, HARDLY and SCARCELY

She hardly need mention his name, since we already know it

Do I need to? (habitual action)-necessity

Need I? (particular occasion)

DIDN’T NEED TO-the action was not necessary and it wasn’t performed-exter

NEEDN’T HAVE +PERFECT INFINITIVE-The action was unnecessary but was performed

I didn’t need to knock on the door since it was open (So, I didn’t)

I needn’t have knocked at the door since it was open (but I knocked)

IDIOMS

MUST NEEDS-external necessity or obligation

She must needs the man today. (by all means)

NEEDS MUST-sarcastic meaning

She needs must ring me when I have some work to do.

(not) supposed to(semi-modal)

 Obligation(should)
I am supposed to join my boss tonight
Contrast between what was expected and what happened
We weren’t supposed to open our presents before our birthday!

DARE

-used in affirmative sentences, it is a normal verb

-but in interrogative, negative sentences, it may be conjugated like a normal verb or a modal one.

Does he dare to come here?

Dare he come here?

DARESAY/DARE SAY-first person singular only and it means

1) I suppose
2) I accept what you say.

Indignation, reproach
How dare you interrupt me?
How dare they come here?

In negative sentences-courage or lack of it

They kept running and didn’t care (to look back

Challenge
She dared me to say all these things.

SHOULD
Obligation, advice, recommendation
She should learn this poem by heart

Surprise (rhetorical questions)

Whom should he meet there?

In subordinate clauses after so that/in order that/lest/for fear that

To omit if in conditional sentences(inversion)

After don’t know why, see no reason why, can’t think why
She doesn’t know why you should ask her such questions.

In direct object clauses after to suggest, to suppose, to insist, to recommend, to advise that..
I suggest that you should be present there.

After impersonal constructions like

It is advisable/it is necessary/it is vital/better/essential/necessary/natural that
It is important that he should arrive here before noon.

SHOULD+HAVE+PAST PARTICIPLE-criticism

You should have told me that you are allergic to shellfish

OUGHT TO

Duty, moral obligation

You ought to phone your parents at once.
To indicate what is regarded as probable
The weathercast says it should be fine today
HAD BETTER (It would be advisable)
She had better work harder(threat)

OUGHT TO +HAVE +PAST PARTICIPLE-criticism

You ought not to have spoken to him like that.

WOULD