Name:……………………………… Date: ……………………………

GRAMMAR FOCUS: MODALS

NOTE: Basic Modals: CAN, COULD, HAD BETTER, MAY, MIGHT, MUST, OUGHT TO, SHALL, SHOULD, WILL, WOULD.
Phrasal Modals: BE ABLE TO, BE GOING TO, BE SUPPOSED TO, HAVE TO, HAVE GOT TO, USED TO.
BOTH modals and phrasal modals are followed by VERB (infinitive without TO)
Meaning of modals Present Future Past
ability can / can’t: I can swim. can / can’t: He can't come tomorrow. could / couldn’t: John could read when he was 3.
was / were able to / managed to / couldn't:
will be able to: He will be able to come We were able to get a table at that new French
a particular ability (be) able to restaurant on Friday; I managed to finish all my
tomorrow.
college work on Saturday, but we couldn’t go for a
walk on Sunday because it rained all day.
have to / has to / have got to (spoken): We have to
bring water for the trip. will have to: You will have to bring had to: He had to stay after class because he
necessity
water for the trip next week. didn't do his homework.
Others: need to do
don't / doesn't have to: You don't have to stay after
won’t have to: We won't have to take didn't have to: We didn't have to take any exam
lack of necessity class.
any exam this term. last term.
Others: needn’t = don’t / doesn’t need / didn’t need
rules / obligations / must: We all must attend the summer
must: Students must go to class on time.
necessity (stronger) course this year.
prohibition mustn't: We mustn't attend the summer
mustn't: Students mustn't go to class late.
(negative) course this year.
certainty MUST: She must be rich. / It must be Susan.
CAN’T: She can’t be poor.
impossibility Mar studied hard for his exam, but he got poor marks;
he CAN’T be clever
CAN, MAY, MIGHT, COULD, SHOULD CAN, MAY, MIGHT, COULD,
Negative: MAY NOT /MIGHT NOT. (Note that SHOULD
possibility COULDN’T can’t be used.): Negative: MAY NOT /MIGHT NOT.
She may/might not be at home = perhaps she’s not at Note that COULDN’T can’t be used.:
home My sister may / might come tomorrow.

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 Request permission: May I......? / Could I......?: (polite) / Can I...? (less polite, informal)
=> Responses: Certainly. / Yes, certainly. / Of course. / Yes, of course. / Sure (informal)
polite questions / Request somebody to do sth: Would you (please)...? / Will you (please)...? / Could you (please)...? / Can you (please)... ? (informal, less polite)
requests => Responses: Yes, I’d (would) be happy to. / Yes, I’d (would) be glad to. / Certainly. / Sure (informal).
Would you mind if I + Verb in simple past ... / Would you mind Ving...
=> Responses: No, not at all. / Of course not. / No, that would be fine. / No. I’d be happy to. / Not at all. I’d be glad to.
SHOULD, OUGHT TO, HAD BETTER (SHOULD = OUGHT TO): You should / ought to stay in bed when you are sick
negative: SHOULDN’T; OUGHTN'T TO (NOT commonly used): “TO” is often dropped: you oughtn’t (to) leave your keys in the car.
advisability
HAD BETTER (‘d better) is stronger, often implies a warning or threat:
negative: HAD BETTER + NOT: You’d better take care of it; you’d better not be late.
BE SUPPOSED TO: someone expects something to happen, express expectation about a scheduled event, behaviour:
expectation The game is supposed to begin at 10:00; I am supposed to go to the meeting;
Past tense to express unfulfilled expectation: Jack was supposed to call me last night. I wonder why he didn’t.
MODAL PERFECT
We needn’t have lit the fire because it was a warm evening. (I lit the fire)
You needn’t have bought any bread. There is plenty in the cupboard. (I bought bread)
NEEDN'T HAVE DONE: something was
CONTRAST:
done although it WASN’T NECESSARY
needed to do sth (past necessity): cần làm gì đó vì điều đó là cần thiết:
(điều này đã được làm những đáng lẽ không
I needed to (had to) phone Sally because I wanted to ask her about the homework (I phoned Sally).
cần làm)
didn’t need to do sth (absence of past necessity): không cần làm vì điều đó là không cần thiết. (~ didn’t have to do sth):
I didn’t need to (= didn'thave to) phone Sally because my sister talked her (I didn’t phone her).
SHOULD HAVE DONE:
1. To show you EXPECTED the past to be
Pam should have gone to work last Saturday, but she was ill. So she stayed at home.
different from what actually happened (đáng lẽ
phải xảy ra nhưng đã không xảy ra) Peter should have closed the gate (Peter did not close the gate so the cows went out). OR: Peter shouldn’t have left the gate
open.
2. To CRITICIZE someone: to say that
I shouldn’t have got angry with Jane (I got angry with Jane, but it was not a good thing to do so).
someone's past behavior was bad or wrong.
(việc đã làm nhưng đáng lẽ ko nên làm)
MUST HAVE DONE -
The thieves stole a very heavy chest. It must have weighed a hundred kilos.
CAN’T/COULDN’T HAVE DONE:
One man alone can’t have moved it so there must have been two or three of them.
(we are CERTAIN about situations in the past)
MAY / MIGHT / COULD HAVE DONE: to Sally said she would call round this morning but she hasn’t come. She may / might / could have called while we were at the
talk about POSSIBILITIES in the past time: shops (= perhaps she called then).
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