GIL211

CHAPTER IV

Modal Verbs
Lecturer: Mr. Vinh Sovann
(B.Ed, MEd. TESOL)
Tel: 086 518 156
E-mail: vsovann@gmail.com
Blogspot: www.vinhsovann2013.blogspot.com
 Outline
 Pure and Semi-modal Verbs
 Obligation and Permission
 Possibility and Certainty
 Ability
 Advice
 Could / Was able to / Managed to
 Could have, should have, would have

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 Pure and Semi-Modal Verbs

Pure Modal Verbs Semi-Modal Verbs

Can Need
Could Ought to
Must Have to
May Dare
Might Be able to
Shall
Will
Would
Should
 Pure and Semi-Modal Verbs
Characteristics of Pure Modal Verbs

 Never change their form irrespective of the subject of the

sentence
You can speak English. or She can speak English

 Do not change the form to show the past

You must obey the rules. not You musted obey the rules.
 Pure and Semi-Modal Verbs
Characteristics of Pure Modal Verbs
 Create negative by themselves
I cannot speak English.

 Create question by themselves

Can you speak English?

 Followed by infinitive without to

He can swim for a mile.
 Pure and Semi-Modal Verbs
Characteristics of Semi-Modal Verbs
 These semi-modal verbs are modal in meaning, but not
their forms.
Need
I need to go now.
She needs some advice.
He needed the right answer.
I needn’t the true answer.
I don’t need the true answer.
 Pure and Semi-Modal Verbs
Characteristics of Semi-Modal Verbs
Ought to
You ought to see a doctor.
They ought to have got back home by now.
Ought you to be doing that?
They oughtn't to (ought not to) do that.
Oughtn't we to leave now?
 Pure and Semi-Modal Verbs
Characteristics of Semi-Modal Verbs
Have to
They have to be more punctual.
He has to take responsibility for the accident.
I had to help my father repair his car.
We will have to put this off until tomorrow.
You don't have to come if you don't want to.
 Pure and Semi-Modal Verbs
Characteristics of Semi-Modal Verbs
Be able to
He is able to offer you the best price possible.
We were able to get in to see the film.
They haven't been able to find the missing document.
So, you aren't able to help.
I will be able to see you after lunch.
 Pure and Semi-Modal Verbs
Characteristics of Semi-Modal Verbs
 These semi-modal verbs are modal in meaning, but not
their forms.
Dare
I dare to go out at night alone.
She dares to go out at night alone.
He dared to answer my questions.
I don’t need the true answer.
 Obligation and Permission
Obligation
 Must is used for 100% obligation and when we want to
do something.
- I must stop when the traffic light turns red.
Have to
 Have to is used when another person wants us to do
something
- He has to spend six to nine months on his report.
Should
Should can be used for 50% obligation
- I should go now.
 Obligation and Permission
Permission
 Can or may is used to give permission to do something.

- Can I use your phone?

- May I take a photo with you?

 Might or Could is used for more polite permission

- Might I use your phone please?
- Could you pass me a book?
 Possibility and Certainty
Possibility
 Can is used when the possibility of something happening
is more than 50%.
- Smoking can cause lung cancer.
- It can make you fail the exam when you lazy to study.
 Could, may, or might is used when the possibility of
something happening is around 50%.
- It could rain tomorrow.
- It may rain tomorrow.
- I might come and visit you when I save enough money
 Possibility and Certainty
Possibility
 May and might followed by not can be used when
something negative is possible
- They might not be able to provide as many facilities.

 The adverb probability is used when the possibility is

more or less than 50%.
- Land is probably cheaper there, too.
 Possibility and Certainty
Certainty
 Must means that something is surely true
- He have been working a whole day, so he must get
tired.
 Cannot means that something is surely not true.
- Making the choice between the two locations can’t
be easy for them.
Certainly (not), definitely (not) can also be used for thing
we are sure about.
- London 2 is certainly more expensive for visitors.
- The land price in town will definitely not be as cheap
 Ability and Advice
Ability
 Can, could, be able to talk about general abilities
I can speak English.

Advice
 Should or ought to can be used to say what we think is
the right thing to do
 Could/was able to/managed to
We use could to talk about:
 General ability
Our senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste)
Understanding (beliefs, remembering, deciding

We use was able to, managed to for what happened in a

specific situation
Maria had a Maths test last Thursday and was able to
pass it very easily.
 Could/was able to/managed to
We use could to talk about:
 General ability
Our senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste)
Understanding (beliefs, remembering, deciding

We use was able to, managed to for what happened in a

specific situation
Maria had a Maths test last Thursday and was able to
pass it very easily.
Could have, should have, would have
These past modal verbs are all used to talk about things that
didn’t really happen in the past.

Could have + past participle

 Could have + past participle means that something was
possible in the past, or you had the ability to do
something in the past, but that you didn’t do it.
Could have, should have, would have
• I could have stayed up late, but I decided to go to bed
early.

• They could have won the race, but they didn't try hard
enough.

• Julie could have bought the book, but she borrowed it

from the library instead.

• He could have studied harder, but he was too lazy and

that's why he failed the exam.
Could have, should have, would have
 Couldn’t have + past participle means that something
wasn’t possible in the past, even if you had wanted to do
it.
• I couldn’t have arrived any earlier. There was a terrible
traffic jam (= it was impossible for me to have arrived
any earlier).
• He couldn’t have passed the exam, even if he had studied
harder. It’s a really, really difficult exam.
Could have, should have, would have
 Could have + past participle is used to make a guess in
the past actions, but not know it’s true or not.

• Why is John late?

He could have got stuck in traffic.
He could have forgotten that we were meeting today.
He could have overslept.
Could have, should have, would have
 We can also use might have + past participle to mean
the same thing:

He might have got stuck in traffic.

He might have forgotten that we were meeting today.
He might have got stuck in traffic.
Could have, should have, would have
Should have + past participle

Should have + past participle can mean something that

would have been a good idea, but that you didn’t do it.

Shouldn’t have + past participle means that something

wasn't a good idea, but you did it anyway.
Could have, should have, would have

• I should have studied harder! (= I didn’t study very hard

and so I failed the exam. I’m sorry about this now.)

• I shouldn’t have eaten so much cake! (= I did eat a lot of

cake and now I don’t feel good.)

• You should have called me when you arrived (= you

didn’t call me and I was worried. I wish that you had
called me).
 Could have, should have, would have
Would have + past participle
 Part of the third conditional
If I had had enough money, I would have bought a car
(but I didn't have enough money, so I didn't buy a car).
 We can also use would have + past participle to talk about
something you wanted to do but didn’t.
-I would have gone to the party, but I was really busy.
(I wanted to go to the party, but I didn’t because I was
busy.)
-I would have called you, but I didn’t know your number.
(= I wanted to call you but I didn’t know your number, so I
didn’t call you.)
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Thank You!

Q&A

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