Modal verbs CAN ability lack of ability He

Modal verbs

CAN • ability / lack of ability He can speak German fluently. I cannot dance. • permission Can I speak to you? • possibility This problem can be solved. • surprise or disbelief It just can’t be raining again! This can’t be happening again! • CAN + Perfect Infinitive – refers to past; generally only the negative form is used You can’t have finished so quickly! 2

COULD • past ability / lack of ability He could play basketball better than anyone. I couldn’t pass my exam since I wasn’t studying enough. • permission Could I leave the class earlier today? • COULD + Perfect Infinitive – to refer to past unused ability I could have become an actress. 3

CAN vs. COULD He can give you the answer to that question. He could give you the answer to that question. (tentative f. ) I could have given him the answer if he had asked me. – it does not refer to the actual performance to refer to the actual performance, use: TO BE ABLE TO, TO MANAGE TO The firefighters were able to put out the fire after two hours. I managed to close the cupboard door in the end. 4

SHOULD, OUGHT TO • advice or recommendation You should read that book. • probability or expectation There should be a lot of people at the meeting. • opinion She should be more careful when she drives. • duty and obligation (mild) I should do my homework for tomorrow. • SHOULD + Perfect Infinitive – refers to past time; always implying that the opposite is true I should have helped my mother. I shouldn’t have told him that. 5

WOULD • a habitual activity in the past Last year on holiday, my sister would get up early. • polite suggestions and requests Would you mind opening the window? Would you lend me your laptop? • wishful thinking about the future (after ‘wish’ and ‘if only’) I wish you would let me go to the concert. If only he would leave. • WOULD + Perfect Infinitive – used in conditional clauses 6

MUST • a necessity or obligation You must be quiet! I must tell you what happened. • logical conclusion He must be at least 60. • MUST + Perfect Infinitive – strong probability in the past You must have travelled for hours. (You look tired. ) • HAD TO + Bare Infinitive – expresses obligation in the past When I was at school, I had to get up at 7 o’clock every morning. • HAVE TO + Bare Infinitive – external obligation in the present or future 7 You have to drive on the left when you go to England. (It’s the law. )

MAY, MIGHT expresses a more remote possibility than MAY. MIGHT is a tentative form of MAY. • possibility I may / might go to England next year. • permission May / Might I borrow your book? • MAY + Perfect Infinitive – past probability He may have come. • MIGHT + Perfect Infinitive – past possibility I might have made that mistake. 8

NEED • necessity in the present or future I need to know how many people will be at the barbecue. • DON’T HAVE TO / DON’T NEED TO/ NEEDN’T + Bare Inf. – expresses absence of necessity in the present or future You don’t have to call us again. She doesn’t need to send her CV again. You needn’t worry. Everything is under control. • NEEDED TO + Bare Inf. – expresses necessity in the past We needed to buy some more milk, so we went to the supermarket. • DIDN’T HAVE TO / DIDN’T NEED TO + Bare Inf. – absence of necessity in the past (something wasn’t necessary and may or may not have been done) I didn’t have to (didn’t need to) pick up the kids from school. 9

HAD BETTER • we use HAD BETTER + Bare Inf. to give strong advice. • it often expresses threat or warning and it’s stronger than should / ought to. • it refers to the present or future, not the past • the negative form is HAD BETTER NOT You’d better ask a doctor about it. You’d better not lie to me again. 10