Modal Auxiliaries

MODAL AUXILIARIES

A.    Illustration

A   : What do you think, we ought to see London first?
B   : Well, historical places, I think. we should go to Westminster Abbey, and if we can go to the Houses of Parliament and the National Gallery.
A   : And what about the British Museum? I was told one ought to see it.
B   : I suppose you must go there. There you can find masterpieces of the world’s best artists.
A   : How can I get to the centre?
B   : I think you can go by steamer down the Thames from Westminster to Tower Bridge. That’s a very pleasant way to travel, and you can see London bridges and quite a number of buildings on the way.

Modals auxiliary verbs are a very complex area of English grammar, they are different from normal verbs such as, work, play, visit … etc. They give additional information about the function of the main verbs that follow it. The meaning is usually connected with ideas of the speaker to express permission, certainty, prohibition, possibility, willingness, obligation, necessity, and ability. So we will not be able to go into much detail, but we will at least get an overall idea of what their function is in a sentence. Modals are can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, would and need (need can also be a main verb).

Examples:

Ø  We can play football.

Ø  We could play football.

Ø  We may play football.

Ø  We might play football.

Ø  We must play football.

Ø  We mustn't play football.

Ø  We needn't play football.

Ø  We ought to play football.

Ø  We shall play football.

Ø  We should play football.

Ø  We will play football.

Ø  We would play football.

Let’s look at each modal auxiliary verbs separately and the function;

1.      Can

The modal auxiliary can has the same form regardless the subject. There is no -s in the 3rd person singular. It is used with a main verb in its infinitive. It can be used alone in short answers. There is no contracted form of can in affirmative sentences.

Example,

Ø  She can speak several languages

Ø  Davis can sing Arabic songs

Ø  He can’t dance very well

2.      Could

We use could to talk about past ability and permission or to make an order.

Ø  She could convince me that she deserved it

Ø  They couldn’t go home because of the rain

Ø  Could I ask you question?

Ø  Could you speak slowly?

3.      Will

We use will to make personal prediction and semi-formal request.

Ø  I don’t think the Queen will ever abdicated

Ø  I doubt if I will stay here much longer

Ø  Will you open the window, please?

Ø  Sign this, will you?

Ø  Will you marry me?

4.      Shall

Shall is form of will, used mostly in the first person. Its use, however, is decreasing, and in any case in spoken English it would be contracted to ‘ll and be indistinguishing from will.

Example,

Ø  Shall we go to the cinema tonight?

Ø  Shall I turn off the air conditioner?

5.      May and Might

May and might sometimes have same meaning, they are used to talk about possibilities in the past, present or future. (“Could” is also sometimes used). May is sometimes a little bit “more sure” (50% chance), whereas might express more doubt.

Example,

Ø  She may be back in her office, the lecture finished ten minutes ago.

Ø  England might win the World Cup, you never know.

6.      Must

“Must” is often used to indicate ‘personal’ obligation. If the obligation comes from outside (rule or law), then have to is often (but not always) preferred.

Example,

Ø  People must try to be more tolerant of each other

Ø  I must play football

7.      Should

Should is used for giving advice.

Example,

Ø  I think you should go to Alam’s house

Ø  Should I take Japan course?

8.      Ought to

Ought to is the same meaning with should, indicates that something is the right thing for somebody to do.

Example,

Ø  You ought to study hard

9.      Had better

Had Better has stronger meaning than should. It often implies a warning or a threat of possible bad consequences.

Example,

Ø  You had better follow the rule otherwise the boss will have to drop you out

B.     EXERCISE

1.     Complete the sentences using the words listed in the box below

can     could     have to     must     might     should

a.       Ted's flight from Amsterdam took more than 11 hours. She be exhausted after such a long flight. He prefer to stay in tonight and get some rest.

b.      If you want to get a better feeling for how the city is laid out, you walk downtown and explore the waterfront.

c.       Hiking the trail to the peak be dangerous if we are not well prepared for dramatic weather changes. We research the route a little more before you attempt the ascent.

d.      When you have a baby in the house, you leave small objects lying around it. Such objects be swallowed, causing serious injury or even death.

e.       Dave: you hold your breath for more than a minute?

Nathan: No, I can't.

f.       Jenny's engagement ring is enormous! It have cost a fortune.

g.      Please make sure to water my plants while I am gone. If they don't get enough water, they die.

h.      I speak France fluently when I was a child and we lived in France. But after we moved back to Canada, I had very little exposure to the language and forgot almost everything I knew as a child. Now, I just say a few things in the language.

i.        The book is optional. My professor said we read it if we needed extra credit. But we read it if we don't want to.

j.        Oh no! Frank's wallet is lying on the coffee table. He have left it here last night.

2.      Create a conversation where the people talk about anything using modal!

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