Modals

Modal auxiliaries 

Features of Modals -

1 Modals are never used alone. they always used with the Main Verbs.

• I can play

2 Modals have no meaning of their own. They provide meaning to the main verb coming after them.

• I can.
• I can speak English. (ability)

3 Modals are not affected by the number and person of the Subject.

• He can sing a song.
• They can sing a song.
• She can sing a song.

4 Modals are followed by the first form of a verb.

5 The base form of a verb coming after a Modal Auxiliary does not take 's' or 'es' with it.

• He can dances.
• He can dance.

6 The Main Verb used after a Modal Auxiliary does not take 'to' before it.

• He can to dance.
• He can dance.

7 Only 'ought' and 'used'  are followed by to + verb.

8 Dare, need and used can be used as Main Verbs. So they are also called 'semi modal'

USES OF MODAL 

MAY / MIGHT

1 To seek and give permission.

May I come in, sir? (= Do I have permission/ Am I allowed to come in?)

Yes, you may. (=Yes you have permission/ Yes you are allowed to come in)

May I go home now? (= Do I have permission/ Am I allowed to go home now?)

No, you may not. (=  No, you don't have permission/  No, you are not allowed to go home now?)

'Might' express the speaker's  hesitation: 

Might I go home now?

May I go home now?

Note: The above two sentences convey the same meaning. the only difference lies in that the first sentences convey the speaker's hesitation while seeking permission.

Note: If we grant permission, we use 'may' otherwise 'cannot' 

• May I come in?
• -Yes, you may come in.
• -No, you cannot.

Formal permission: May I come in sir?
Informal permission: Papa, can I go for a picnic with my friends?
--No, you may not.

Permission: May or Can? 

With the first person

• I can meet the principal whenever I want. (It means I have already right to meet the principal.)
• I can cast my vote. (It means I have already right to meet the principal.)

With the second person

• You may park your car here. (It means I give you permission to park your car here)
• You can park your car here. (It means you have already right to park your car here)

With the Third person 

• He can take my car. (It means I give him permission to my car)
• He may take my car. (It means he need not take my permission. Relation are so informal or close)

May not or Cannot? 

• The news may not be true. (possible)
• The news cannot be true. (not possible)

2 To express possibility

• It may rain.
• She may come.
• He may get good marks.

• It may rain. (Maybe a 50% possibility)
• It might rain. (Maybe a 30% possibility)
• I may see you tomorrow. (Maybe a 50% possibility)

Two types of possibility:

1. Factual possibility
2. Theoretical possibility

Factual possibility takes 'may'-

• This road may be blocked
• Ram may make a mistake.

Theoretical possibility takes 'can' -

• Anyone can make a mistake.
• Any road can be blocked.

Look at these sentences:

1. The sky is cloudy. It may rain today. (about 50% possibility)
2. The sky is clear. It might rain today. (about 30% possibility)
3. I might see you tomorrow. (Maybe a 30% possibility)

3 To express purpose: 

• We eat so that we may live.
• Soldiers die so that the country may live.
• Farmers use fertilizers so that they may have a good harvest.

Note: To express past purpose we use 'might' -

• Soldiers died so that the country might live.
• Farmers used fertilizers so that they might have a good harvest. 
• He worked hard so that he might live. 

4 To express 'wish' 

• May you live long!
• May God bless you!
• May you win a lottery!

5  To express Request -cum –permission -

• May I borrow your eraser?
• May I make a phone call?
• Requests usually refer to the near future.

6 We use 'may have' or 'might have' to express an action which may have likely taken place at some point of time in the past-

• It’s ten o’clock. They might have reached Delhi by now [= Perhaps they have arrived]
• They may have reached Delhi hours ago. [= Perhaps they arrived hours ago.]

7. We use 'might' in Indirect speech:-

• He said, “It may rain today.”
• He said that it might rain that day.

CAN / COULD

1 To express ability and capacity: 

• I can solve this sum.
• I can lift this heavy box.
• I can speak English fluently.

2 To give and seek permission:-

• Can I ask a question, please?

• Can I go home now?
• Yes you can.

• You can go home now if you like.
• You can borrow my pen if you like.

But 'could' is more polite than 'can'

• Could I ask a question, please?
• Could we go home now?

We also use 'can' to say that someone is allowed to do something: –

• We can go out whenever we want.
• Students can travel free.

3 To express possibility:-

• Anyone can make a mistake.
• Any child can solve this sum.

You can easily lose your way in the dark. (= People often lose their way in the dark)

4 in the phrase 'can't help'

• As he has a bad cold, he can’t help sneezing.

5 To express past ability and capacity we use 'could':

• When I was a child, I could climb a tree.
• When I was in England, I could speak English fluently.
• If I had the money, I could buy a car.

6 To make a polite request -

• Could you tell me the way to the railway station?

7 To say that something is possible in the future:-

• If we don’t hurry we could be late. (=Perhaps/Maybe we will be late)

8 While making an offer, e use 'Can I …… / I can .../ I could ... ' –

• Can I help you?
• Can I do that for you?
• I can do that for you if you like.
• I can give you a lift to the station.

SHALL 

1. With 1st person ‘shall’ express ‘simple future’.

• We shall know our result tomorrow.
• I shall leave for Delhi today.

2. With Second person pronoun ‘shall’ expresses order, promise, or prohibition.

• You shall do as I say. (order)
• I promise that you shall have a cell phone on your birthday. (promise)
• You shall not touch my book without my permission. (prohibition)

3. With 'third person pronoun', ‘shall’ also express determination.

• I am sure that he shall top the class this year.

4. In ‘interrogative sentences’ ‘shall’ is used to give suggestion or to offer for help.

• Shall I carry you heavy bag? (offer for help)
• Shall we sit here? (suggestion)

WILL 

1. With ‘second’ and ‘third’ person pronoun ‘shall’ expresses ‘simple future’.

• My father will come from Delhi tomorrow.
• They will for Agra next week.

2. Informal request.

• Will you please open the door?
• Will you some more coffee?

3. With ‘first person pronoun’ shall expresses determination.

• I will top the class this year.
• We will fight to the last.

4. With ‘second person pronoun’ shall is used to give orders.

• You will do as I say.
• You will clean the room.

5. In conditional sentences, we use ‘will’ in the principal clause when the subordinate clause is in Present Indefinite Tense.

• If you work hard you will pass.
• If you invite him, he will attend the meeting.

6. To give a warning when there is an imperative sentence before ‘or’ or ‘otherwise’. –

• Work hard or/ otherwise you will fail.
• Walk carefully or/ otherwise you will fall.

SHOULD

1. Past of ‘shall -

• I said to him, “I shall help him.”
• I told him that I should help him.

2. To express our moral duty (to say what we should do):-

• We should obey our teachers.
• We should help the poor.
• We should not tease the animals.

3. To give advice or suggestion:-

• You should take exercise daily.
• You should give up smoking.

4. To express purpose (often with ‘lest’)-

• Work hard lest you should fail.
• Walk carefully let you should fall.

5. To express a moral duty (to say what others should do):

• You should not drink wine.
• You should serve you country.

6. In sentences beginning with ‘if’ to express imagination:

• If you should meet him on the way, ask him to return my book.

7. In order to guess something:

• He should be 55.
• He should be a teacher.

WOULD 

1. To express past habits -

• Gandhi ji would always spin for hours.
• My late grandmother would tell me bedtime stories every evening.

2. To express a polite request:

• Would you pass me the salt, please?
• Would you tell me the way to the station?

3. To know about what the others want:

• Would you like to have some more water?
• Would you like to accompany me?

4. In imaginary situations:

• Would that I were a bird!
• Would that I were rich!

5. To express an impossible condition of the past -

• If you worked hard, you would pass.

6. To express ‘preference’-

• I would like to have tea.
• I would rather die than beg.

7. Past of ‘will’ -

• He said, “I will you.”
• He said that he would help me.

MUST 

1. To express necessity -

• You must take an umbrella as it is raining outside.
• You must run if you want to catch the train.
• You must not tell this to anyone. It is very secret.

2. To express compulsion:

• A servant must obey his master.
• We must obey the laws of the country.
• We must pay our debts.

3. To express determination:

• I must top the class this year.
• We must finish this work by evening.

4. To talk about strong moral duty:

• You must obey your teachers.
• We must serve our country.

5. To talk about strong advice:

• You must give up smoking as it causes cancer.
• You must consult some good doctor.
• You must not eat this apple. It is rotten.

6. To express prohibition :

• You must not enter the room without permission.
• You must not play on the road.

7. To talk about a strong possibility :

• They must have reached Delhi.
• She must have left for Agra.

8. To express certainty -

• We must die sooner or later.
• We must grow old one day.
• Plants must have light and water to grow.

9. To give instructions:

• All students must come to school in their proper school uniform.
• Students must not run in the corridors.
• You must study the last two chapters before the test.

10. To talk about logical conclusion;

• My bike has disappeared. It must have been stolen.
• The fan is on. Someone must be in the room.
• You are wet. You must be washing your car.
• The ground was wet this morning. It must have rained last night.
• Dinosaurs were very big; they must have eaten a lot.
• Sourav must be home. I heard a noise coming from his room.
• That must have been my mother calling me last night, nobody else has my number.
• He has bought a new house as well as a new car. He must have won the lottery.
• She must have been at home - her car was there.
• He has not eaten since morning. He must be hungry.

11. To talk about logical conclusion:

• You must pay for your electricity bill.
• You must wear a seatbelt at all times.

NEED 

'Need' can be used as both the main verb and modal auxiliary. It means ‘need’ is the main verb as well as a modal auxiliary. But as a modal auxiliary, ‘need’ can be used only in Negative and Interrogative sentences. 

1. To express lack of necessity:

• There are a lot of tomatoes in the refrigerator. You need not buy any.
• The train is late. You need not run.

2. To ask a question about necessity:

• Need we go to school today?

DARE 

1. To express lack of courage:

• The child dare not enter the principal’s office.
• They dare not cross the jungle at night.

2. To ask a question about courage:

• How dare you touch my books?
• Dare you spend the night in a dark room?

USED TO 

1. To express a past habit:

• When I was a child I used to watch television a lot.
• I use to go to school by school bus. Now I go on bike.

2. To contrast past with the present :

• There used to be a big tree in front of our house.
• There used to be a cinema hall in the center of the city.

OUGHT TO 

1. To express advice, moral duty, and responsibility: -

• We ought to eat lots of fruit and vegetables every day.
• We ought to respect our elders.
• We ought to help the needy.
• You ought to follow the advice of the doctor.

2. In negative sentences ‘ought not to’ is used:

• Children ought not to play so long.
• You ought not to drink so much.

3. In perfect tense ‘ought’ is used to express that an action should have taken place but not done: –

• You ought to have invited him to the party.

(= but you did not invite him)

• You ought to have called me.

(= but you did not call me)