MODAL VERBS – PRESENT

HAVE TO
- To talk about things which we are obligatory or necessary, often imposed on us
by.other people or authorities
- I have to wear a uniform to school.
- We all have to use money.

DON’T HAVE TO
- To talk about things which are not obligatory or necessary.
- You don’t have to date anyone.

MUST (muset)
- To talk about rules, regulations and obligations, that often come from ourselves.
- I must stop smoking.
- You must see Sugar Denny’s new video.

MUSTN’T (nesmět)
- To talk about prohibitions.
- Governments mustn’t do that.
- I always tell others that they mustn’t touch me.

NEED TO
- To talk about things which are obligatory or necessary.
- I need to buy cottage cheese for dinner.

DON’T NEED TO
- To talk about absence of necessity in general.
- People don’t need to have a degree to get a job.

NEEDN’T
- To give somebody permission not to do something.
- You needn’t wash the dishes.
- You needn’t carry it all with you.

ARE/AREN’T ALLOWED
- To talk about things that are prohibited.
- You aren’t allowed to go there.

CAN’T
- To refuse permission.
- I can’t do what I like.

SHOULD / SHOULDN’T / OUGHT TO / HAD BETTER TO

- To give and ask for advice and recommendations.
- Had better – especially for when we think we should do something because it is a
good idea.
- Ought to and had better are less common in negative or question form.
 MODAL VERBS – PAST

HAD TO
- To talk about things which were obligatory or necessary.

DIDN’T HAVE TO
- To talk about things which were not obligatory or necessary (and you knew that), so
you didn’t do it.

NEEDED TO
- To talk about things which were obligatory or necessary.

DIDN’T NEED TO
- To talk about things which were not obligatory or necessary.
- Maybe we did them or we did not.

NEEDN’T HAVE + past participle

- To talk about things that were not obligatory or necessary, but we did them (we
didn’t knew that it was not necessary).

WASN’T/WEREN’T ALLOWED
- To talk about past prohibitions.

COULDN’T
- To talk about things that were prohibited or not possible.

SHOULD / OUGHT TO HAVE + past participle / SHOULDN’T HAVE + past participle

- To criticise past actions or to say that they were a mistake.
 SPECULATION – PRESENT AND FUTURE
MUST
- When you are 90% certain that something is true.

MAY / MIGHT / COULD / MAY NOT / MIGHTN’T

- When there is a 50% possibility that something is (or is not) true.

CAN’T
- When you are 90% certain that something is not true.

SPECULATION – PAST
MUST HAVE
- When you are 90% certain that something was true.

MAY HAVE / MIGHT HAVE / COULD HAVE / MAY NOT HAVE / MIGHTN’T HAVE +
past parcipale
- When there is a 50% possibility that something was (or was not) true.

CAN’T HAVE
- When you are 90% certain that something was not true.