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Modals

Modal verbs such as must, should, and may are used to express different levels of obligation, necessity, advice, permission, ability, possibility, and assumption. Must expresses strong obligation or duty, while should and ought to express weaker obligation or advice. Need expresses necessity, while can expresses ability or permission depending on context. May, might, could, and can are also used to express varying degrees of possibility or likelihood.

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8 views

Modals

Modal verbs such as must, should, and may are used to express different levels of obligation, necessity, advice, permission, ability, possibility, and assumption. Must expresses strong obligation or duty, while should and ought to express weaker obligation or advice. Need expresses necessity, while can expresses ability or permission depending on context. May, might, could, and can are also used to express varying degrees of possibility or likelihood.

Uploaded by

Ella Vorobets
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Modal Verbs

must can may


might should
could would ought to
need have to
Obligation
Must expresses duty, strong obligation (usually a personal obligation):
• I must pay the rent today.

Have to expresses strong necessity/obligation (usually an external


obligation):
• We have to attend an important meeting.

In the past we use had to in every instance:


• I had to give up smoking (because I wanted to, or my doctor
forced me to).
Necessity
Need – It is necessary to.
We need to confirm our reservation before Friday.

Absence of necessity
Needn’t / Don’t have to / Don’t need to + present
infinitive: it is not necessary to do sth:
You don’t need to / don’t have to / needn’t iron the clothes – I
will do it.
Advice
Should Ought to
express weak obligation / recommendation / advice
(They are less emphatic than must / have to)

• You should visit your dentist twice a year.


• We ought to eat lots of fruit and vegetables every day.
Prohibition
Mustn’t Can’t
It’s forbidden to do sth; it’s against the rules / law;
you are not allowed to do sth.

• You mustn’t smoke in hospitals.


• You can’t drive in this country unless you are over
eighteen.
Ability
Can expresses ability in the present:
• He can swim.

Could expresses ability in the past:


• He could speak fluent French when he was five.
Permission
can could may might
• Can I sit here? (informal; asking for permission)
• You can/can’t sit here.
• Could I use this chair? (more polite)
• You may use this chair. (formal; giving permission)
• Might/May I use this chair. (more formal; asking for permission)
• Sorry, you can’t use this chair. (informal; refusing permission)
• Sorry, you may not use this chair. (formal; refusing permission)
Logical Assumption / Deduction
Must: sure/certain that sth is true.
• + infinitive – present meaning:
• She must be in the garden.
• + have + past participle – past meaning:
• She must have been in the garden when I called

Can’t: certain that sth is not true/real.


• + infinitive – present meaning:
• He’s just left. He can’t be too far.
• + have + past participle – past meaning:
• You can’t have seen her. She was at home.
Possibility
Can + • General possibility; sth is theoretically possible:
For dessert you can have apple pie or ice
present cream
infinitive
• It is possible/ likely/ perhaps (used in a specific
Could / May / Might situation)
+ present infinitive • You should keep this ring, it may be valuable
one day.
We can use
• Do you think that you can/ could/ might
can/could/might in work on this?
questions, but NOT may

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