Auxiliaries

,
Primary Modal
Auxiliaries Auxiliaries

Forms of be' -is, am, are, was can, could, may, might,
were, will, shall would, should, must,
Forms of-have' -has, have, had ought to, needn't
Forms of 'do' .- do (does), did used to, had, daren 't

nicknamed as
24 friends of 'not'

► Primary Auxiliaries assist the 1nain verbs i11 t,re fom1ation of tenses.
'
► Modal auxiliaries express a mode or1nannerofthe main verb, not the real tense.

Modals and their modalities

1. Can :It expresses the modalities of:
❖ present ability, capacity or power.
Can you fly an aeroplane?
Yes, I can fly an aeroplane.
No. I cannot fly an aeroplane.

❖ giving or withholding permission.

You can go out as and when you wish.
You cannot go until you finish your work.

sense of disbelief, impossibility.

Can he be so ignorant? (I believe he is not.)
lt cannot be true. (It is in1possible)
It can 't be so degraded. (disbelief)
 ·•I '=it expresses: . ..
. power. (WJ·th a suggestion of cbange m condnion)
the past ability, capacity,
I could swim across the Thames when 1was young.
Could you solve these problems ten years ag0 ?. No . I could not. Now I can.
•.
To emphasize the ach1evemen t· •co uld' may be replaced by 'w-as/were

able to· or' knew how to'·

l was able to fly an aeroplane before the accident.
. . 1·n the past (with a suggestion of changed condition).
permission
My father could travel free of charge when he was an employee in MPRTC.
When J was in school~ Jcould borrow any number of books from the library.
❖ polite requests.
Could you spare a glass of water for me?
Could l use )'our spectacles to read it?

Note : A polite request is made by Iwill, would or could, but the use of could is rnore
common in infonnal speech these dnys.
It is used for~

❖
~

seeking permission (in interrogative forms).

May Ihave the pleasure of your company at tea toduy?
May I use your pen, please'!

Note : Permission is sought by 'may' and gi vcn by' can• Pnst pemtission cannot
be expressed by a modal.

❖ future possibility or ronjecture.

/The clouds are dark. It may rain tonight.
The train may be late. The fog is dens~.
Don't go out. You maycatchcold~ (Conjecture)

❖ wish" good will and blessings.

May you all be in gOQd health!
Mayyournewbom child live long!

❖ purpose.

They are working overtime so that the work may be completed before time.
(If the verb in the Principal clause is in the past, 'may' will be f!!l)laccd by 'i~gh~')
4. Might_ It expresses the modalities ~f:
❖ a doubtful possibility (may be
or may not be).
The guests might be coming now. It is 5.30.
The examinations might begin in March.

.•.• non-fulfillment of a po st·b·t·ty •

s 1 1 m the past (using might+have+past participle)
It might have rained last night (but it didn't)
A little more care nught have saved him.
5. \Viii / shall :Asarul ' ·11' d' h ' .
e Wl an s all are the aux ii iaries of future tense, and used to express
pure futurity. But they can act as modals, though they are not modals in a strict sen~e of
thetenn.

a) 'Will' with first person subject, i~e., I and we, is used to express:

❖ willingness, intention, promise, future plan or determination of

the subject.

I will be your friend all my life.

I will have no more tea now.

I wilJ bring a good present on your birthday.

I will buil,d a good house in the village.

❖ will with second person subject (in interrogative sentences) is used to

make a pol.ite request or extend invitation.

Will you please extend your support to me?

Will you call your father, please? I have an appointment with him.

b) 'Shall' with second or third person subject, i.e., you, he, she, it, they and a] I nouns, is

used to express command, threat, warning, promise (from the speaker's side):

He shall not entermyoffice again.

, You shall be tumed out if you come here again.

The defaulters shall be punished by fine and imprisoi:iment..

WOukf... ·<\\tcmld • and' should' are.mistaken 10 be the pastJonllS of'will' or 'shall". It is 0111}'
the indirectnan11t1'on \vhe~e \\r;1·11-,.~au
~.. - · · are changed into,votlldlsbould ifd1e rep o ~1
1-o.· -v•"'i·.~
- : o't"t:1- t) ;l.lann
. . 11'
- · - - · -- 11. 'Jk- · - ·
- l. '-'
~~
H.).hc in tlic past. But would as amodal expresses : .·
' ~
❖
4
:t liking or a wish (with or without 'Jike') with all persons,.in the sense ot·
· ' w.ant
_ to'
Who would notbe a niiHionaire? ·
• •
J \\ ish] ,vou1d be an ,e1np.er,or.
1
•:• g_an inv1t:at1on.
po.lite rcque~ts·o r c).1~:ndin_
. . . -·•
Would you please do it for n1.e?
Would you please have a cup .oftea ,,~ith 111c?
(In tl1i"s se1\se ",viU 1' ·is .also used,r but.tht, use of'\vould n1akcs the request
n1orc polite)
 to,•••••
M11, 111e■ld . .llft
Mut-11 ued te npn11 aeceulty, estffllal obli&•ttoa...,....
.,.,_ emplaatk acMee flom die apeaker's point of \'lew.
• Al • 1••nl nle; ••••• npreues some estenal all1rt11• •
llllject.
~ men mt11tw01t bani to eam hia 1,vang. there is no tree.lunch. <-••"Y>
Tbe-tnllllbecomplete d before March(cxt.anal
He 1111111 IIOp the la-tab or aupr He bu be• ...,.._ et
(c,11,.-..,
- - - • • uadblm. (comuunt.o:dlr)
tolhe--llonc&
 advice in general witl1 110 external obligation,
Children must property be taken care of.
I

In a national emergency, people inust be ready to die for thp oat.ion.

Note : i Negative of· must is imust not' (to express negative command etc.}.
Ca<lcts must not talk while on parade.
1

ii But negative of 'must' with absence (removal) of obhgation is ~necdn f\

You needn't clean tl1e floor. The maid will do it
s.hou,ld - It expr,esses :

* speaker•s personal opinion regarding duty, g,meral advice~ ad,·isabilit)

or desirability (all titnt~s and fufurc) .

One should help t1 ,c p~1or nnd the oppressed.
You should respect your teachers and elders.
Union office bearers should work for the welfare ofstudents (dct,irability)
• unfulfilled ohligntion -something which shnnld hav~ hccn done but l\'OS
not done• is expressed by s1101dd hn,·e+pnst partidpte form or ,he vt~tb.
Mr. Kclkar should have lak~n the mooicine~ (bul he dion ~t}
You should have gone early. (but you didn 'l)
f JI

after lest, "sboutd' in th~ follo\\ ing clause t•X'tne,scs ~ptaker•s anxiety
ove.♦ soJDt.lthin.g ,, fl ich may occur In future
Let us be p11otogmphed test we should forget.
Hire a mxi lest you should miss the OighL•
.
in a conditional sentente (if_+_ present Indefinite), nshould" ean
replace ·•ir' to express chance happening,
Should it rain~\\ e shall postpone the journey.
(I fit happens to ram 1....................,. )

Should you meet Mr. .Kulkarni. convey my regards to him.

Ofyou happen to meet Mr. KulkamLt.........,.... )

• in ttrtain txpressions ofsurprise.

Why should a member of parliament take bribe for asking questions?
Ought to - It expresses .

a~visability, desirability in the matter of conscience; moral,

social, phys i~
obligation; advi ce rega rdin g_a sens ible acti on of duty .
Your son ough t.to be mor e sinc ere ifhe wish es to rise high .

We ough t to live for our n1otherland.

We ough t to be well prep ared for the exm nina tion s.

high expectation or stro ng likel ihoo d ~

A national hero like him ough t to main tain high mora ls.
Hmn an rights of the citiz ens ough t to be resp ected · ·

when som e sens ible actio n was expe cted to hav e been don
e or to hav
taken place but did not, it is expr esse d by 'oug ht to hav e+
past particip
fonn s of the verb (non fulfi lmen t o(a.sens ible acti on).
The teach ers ough t to have com plete d the cour se by now .
You did not salut e the natio nal flag. You ough t to have and you
alwa ys ought t
You ough t to have done your duty well.

- nave, coul d have, shou ld have , ough t to have + past patti ciple foi

press non - fulfih11ent of an action 1n the past but in each

arate respective 1nodalities.

t to ' is '9ught not to' without change of 1nodalit

fore your teacher. It is bad.

Need n't - (alw ays used with out 'to') It expr esse s abse nce
of obli gati on o
com puls ion, expressed by ~must'. Thu s it is the opposite of
'mus t'.
You need n't ring the bell. The door was alrea dy open .
The child need n't go in the.cold.
. 9. Have to-(have to, has to, will have to, shall have to)

~,.- It expresses an act done under the compulsion or force of circumstances.

Ipast present .
. . \ (..'

had to
Examples:

(i) vVhat a pity! He had to go on foot. (past)

(ii) Crores of poor men in I.ndia have to sleep under the open sky (present)
'
(ii1) He will have to give up drinking to get well. (future)

Negative use in the past - hadn't to and in the present - is, am, are not to

but when there is no compulsion or force of c·ircumstances, the use in the

present will be - don "t have to, ~oesn 't have to.

Examples: ·

(i) He is not to be late again.

-
(ii) He does not have to do it all alone.

lt may he replaced by necdn 't also.

Hcpccdn't do it all alone.

* Ne~ative use in tlte future is ·won't have to",

He ,von 't have to work all alone.

'fdtlle paat ltt11oe811mtstl-lM pU1 with lie pt'tM?nt

Ii YIOl lUtaon&
Aker.