Modal Verbs

1. To show LEVELS OF PROBABILITY (deduction).

2. To perform SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS (additional meaning) like obligation, permission

etc.
MODAL VERBS USED TO SHOW LEVELS OF PROBABILITY

LEVEL OF MODAL TIME = TIME =

PROBABILITY VERB PRESENT & PAST
FUTURE

CERTAINTY WILL (Be) He'll be here by That will / would have

Friday. been Susan who called.
It won't / wouldn't have
CERTAINTY WON'T (Be) She won't be here. been John, I think he's
in São Paulo.

IMPOSSIBILITY CAN'T Be It can't be Fred, he's He can't / couldn't have

COULDN'T Be in the USA. written this, he doesn't
It couldn't be right. speak Arabic.

PROBABILITY MUST (Be) He must be right, He must have finished

(LOGICAL) he's an expert in this by now, he's a fast
area. worker.
PROBABILITY SHOULD (Be) He should be He should have finished
(LOGICAL + finishing now, he's a by now, the exam's
PREFERENCE) fast worker. nearly over.

POSSIBILITY MIGHT (Be) They might win, but If they had played
I doubt it. better, they might have
won.
POSSIBILITY MIGHT NOT It's very cloudy, but If I hadn't read that book
(Be) I might not rain. I might not have passed
the exam.

POSSIBILITY MAY (Be) We may go to She may have got lost.

Greece for our
holidays.
POSSIBILITY MAY NOT (Be) I may not arrive on He may not have done
time. it.

POSSIBILITY COULD (Be) You could be right, He could have had an

but I doubt it. accident even though
he's a very good driver.

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 MODAL VERBS USED TO PERFORM SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS
MODAL TIME = TIME =
FUNCTION VERB PRESENT& PAST
FUTURE
COMPULSION MAKE SB (Do) She makes them tidy The teacher made them
their room. write it out six times.
PROHIBITION CAN'T/NOT My dad says that I She wasn't allowed to
ALLOWED TO can't see you see him anymore.
anymore.
PERMISSION MAY (Be) May I go now? I was allowed to go.
STRONG MUST (Do) I must remember to I had to apologize.
OBLIGATION pay the phone bill.
STRONG MUSTN'T (Do) Mother: "you The children weren't
OBLIGATION mustn't play with allowed to play outside.
matches."
NO OBLIGATION DON'T HAVE TO I don't have to wake I was happy that I didn't
(Do) up early on have to see him again.
Saturdays.
NO OBLIGATION NEEDN'T (Do) You needn't pay it You needn't have done
now if you don't it, but I'm glad you did.
want to.
NO OBLIGATION DON'T NEED TO I don't need to study He didn't need to revise
(Do) French anymore. for the exam.
DUTY SUPPOSED TO Your supposed to You were supposed to
arrive at work at have done this by now.
8am.
DUTY NOT SUPPOSED You not supposed to I wasn't supposed to
TO be here! have been at the
meeting.
FORMAL WOULD (Do) I'd arrive on time if I I would have arrived on
ADVICE were you. time if I'd been him.
FORMAL WOULDN'T (Do) I wouldn't do that if I wouldn't have done
ADVICE I were you. that if I'd been him.
INFORMAL SHOULD (Do) You should always You should have
ADVICE dress well at dressed well at the
interviews. interview.
INFORMAL SHOULDN'T (Do) You shouldn't speak You shouldn't have
ADVICE to him like that. spoken to him like that.
INFORMAL OUGHT TO (Do) You ought to be here You ought to have been
ADVICE earlier. there earlier.
INFORMAL NOT OUGHT TO You didn't ought to You didn't ought to have
ADVICE (Do) touch that. done that.
REQUESTS CAN (I/you) Can/Could you help I asked him to help me.
me, please?
ABILITY CAN (Do) I can speak English. I could speak English
when I was five.
ABILITY BE ABLE TO (Do) Will you be able to She was able to answer
come? all the questions.
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 ABILITY MANAGE TO (Do) Does he manage to He managed to rescue
get here on time? her.
NORMAL WILL She'll always do her She would always do
BEHAVIOUR homework. her homework.
OFFERS WILL I'll help you with I'd have helped you.
that.
OFFERS SHALL Shall I give you a I should have helped
hand. you.
SUGGESTIONS SHALL (LET'S) Shall we meet at I suggested meeting at
9pm? 9.
WILLINGNESS WON'T (Do) I won't do it! She wouldn't do it.

Before using a modal verb, you must decide whether you are using it to
show probability or possibility.

If the answer to this question is YES, then the present and future form will be:

+ VERB + OBJECT
MODAL VERB + BE + NOUN / ADJECTIVE
+ BE + GERUND

E.g. They may arrive on time. or

He might be the right person for the job. or

She should be arriving in a few minutes.

and the past form will be:

MODAL VERB + PRESENT PERFECT

E.g. It must have been a very difficult exam, everyone's looking worried.

If the answer to the question above is NO then things are much more complicated and you
will have to learn the modal verb used, and its past tense form, depending on the function.

Modal verbs - Difficult cases

Probability and possibility.

CAN

'Could be' or 'could have been' mean that something is possible but you are NOT CERTAIN.

E.g. "Where's John?"

"I don't know. He could still be at home" or
"I don't know. He could have gone home" (I've got no idea, it's just a guess)

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BUT 'Can't be' or 'can't have been' are used to say that something is not possible: you are
CERTAIN.

E.g. "Where's John?"

"I don't know. He can't still be at home because I've just come from there." or
"I don't know. He can't have gone home because his car's still here." or
"I don't know. He couldn't have gone home, I've just seen his car."
('Couldn't be' has the same meaning but is slightly weaker)

Specific functions

MUST AND HAVE TO

'Must' is used when the speaker has AUTHORITY to oblige someone to do something.

E.g. (Doctor to patient) "You must stop smoking immediately."

(Mother to child) "John. You mustn't speak like that to your grandmother."
(To yourself) "I must remember to buy my mother a present."

THE PAST OF 'MUST' IS 'HAD TO'.

E.g. I had to remember to take my car keys with me when I went to the airport.

When the obligation comes from another person or organization, HAVE TO is used.

E.g. "I have to get up early tomorrow." (My job or a trip is obliging me to get up early)
"How many years do you have to work before you can retire?" (Obligation from rules)

Only 'Have to' is possible in the will future or the present perfect.

'MUSTN'T' means that there is an obligation NOT TO DO SOMETHING.

BUT 'DON'T HAVE TO' means that there is NO OBLIGATION.

E.g. (Teacher to student) "You mustn't forget to revise your modal verbs before the
exam,
but you probably won't have to answer any difficult questions"

The past of mustn't is 'not be allowed to'.

E.g. "My mother told me that I wasn't allowed to talk to strange men."

CAN FOR ABILITY

'Can' (do something), 'can't' (do something) and 'couldn't' (do something) are used with stative
verbs and when the ability is GENERAL.
E.g. "When the light went off I couldn't see anything." (stative verb)
"I could swim when I was six years old." (I could swim at any time after 6 years old)

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When you want to talk about ABILITY ON ONE SPECIFIC OCCASION you must use BE
ABLE TO or MANAGED TO.

E.g. I wasn't able to fix the engine because I didn't have the parts I needed.

Managed to is used to stress the successful completion of the activity.

E.g. The girl was drowning, but the lifeguard managed to save her.

In the present 'can' and 'be able to' are sometimes interchangeable, but in the will future or in
perfect tenses, 'be able to' or 'managed to' must be used.

REQUESTS

The modal verb which is used for a request depends on THE LEVEL OF FORMALITY.

In FORMAL SITUATIONS you can use WOULD or DO YOU MIND (DOING STH.).

E.g. "Would/Do you mind if I open the window?" or

"Would you mind turning down the music a bit?" (Talking to someone you don't know
well)

In INFORMAL SITUATIONS use CAN (YOU DO STH.).

E.g. "Dad, can we go to the cinema on Saturday?" or

"John, can you pass me that book?" (Talking to a good friend or a member of your
family)

In nearly ALL SITUATIONS you can use COULD (YOU DO STH. FOR ME).

E.g. "Could you help me with this exercise, please?" or

"Could I have six pounds of potatoes, please? (At home, in class or in shops)

OFFERS

WILL and SHALL are used when making offers.

WILL means I'M OFFERING TO HELP YOU.

It is usually used when you are talking to someone you know well, and it is obvious that you
can help them.

E.g. "Oh dear. There are so many dishes to wash!"

"I'll help you do the washing up."

SHALL means I'M ASKING YOU IF YOU WANT ME TO HELP YOU.

It is usually used when you are talking to someone you don't know very well or when it is not
clear that you can be of help.

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E.g. "Oh dear! These suitcases are very heavy."
"Excuse me. Shall I help you with them?" (Two people who don't know each
other) or
"I'd like to go to a party next Friday, but I haven't got anyone to look after my son."
"Shall I baby-sit for you?" (I'm not qualified, but I'll help you if you like)

SHALL can also be used to make a suggestion. E.g. "Shall we go to the cinema tonight?"

WILL FOR CHARACTERISTIC BEHAVIOUR

When using this structure it should be contracted when writing and not stressed when
speaking.

E.g. "He'll always be there when you need help."

If it is stressed when speaking, it means that the behaviour is annoying.

E.g. "He will keep on interrupting me."

NEEDN'T HAVE DONE v DIDN'T NEED TO DO

Needn't have done sth. means the action was completed, but was unnecessary.
E.g. "You needn't have bought any butter. We've got lots of it."

Using 'didn't need to do sth.', we don't know if the action was completed, just that it wasn't
necessary.
E.g. "I didn't need to do any shopping because I was eating out that night."